Dragon Fire
by o Mischief Managed
Summary: Sequel to Dragon Blood. Three years after the death of Ebony Gray, the magical world is alive with whispers of an enemy that's both old and new. When the American Dragon is taken captive, the Red Hunter, a vigilante who fights for the protection of magical creatures, must travel across the country to seek help in rescuing her from the evil that threatens to destroy both worlds.
1. Prologue

Hey there! Okay so I know I said I wasn't gonna write a sequel to Dragon Blood, but so many people asked for it that I just couldn't say no anymore, so here we are! Anyone who was unhappy with the end of Dragon Blood, congrats! Hopefully you like this continuation a little better. I actually really like how this turned out, and I've been really excited to share it with you all.

So, important fact: **This is an AU**, so to speak. In terms of this story, **The Hunted and all of Season 2 of the series did NOT happen,** just like in my last story (obviously, since this is a direct continuation of that). Also, as the summary says, this takes place about three years after the events in Dragon Blood, or one year after the Epilogue, and six years after the series timeline of Season 1. Don't worry, though, you won't forget that. I mention time and ages and whatnot enough throughout the story, haha.

And I know my writing style has changed a bit since I wrote Dragon Blood, but come on. I was sixteen when I started that story back in 2006, so what do you expect? Hopefully things have changed for the better, at least.

Here's a nice little prologue (which I love and had a bunch of fun writing, haha) to get you started and sort of introduce the plot. Enjoy!

* * *

Farley's was just as busy as it was every Thursday night, even after midnight. It was one of the few local bars in downtown Chicago that stayed open so late on weekdays, so it attracted all sorts of nighttime clientele. It was a good place, though – the sort that boasted more friendly regulars than the occasional quiet straggler, and its doors welcomed anyone who needed a few moments of peace away from their busy lives.

When the door creaked open to announce a new arrival, no one looked up from their drink or conversation. The man who entered brushed the rain off his coat and trudged toward the bar, where one lone bartender was rubbing a glass with a dish rag. When he reached the bar, the worker looked up and asked, "What'll it be?"

"House special," the man answered at once, having given the words countless times in the past.

The barkeep stopped wiping the glass and eyed the man carefully. "You got ID?" he said evenly. The man leaned forward onto the bar and lifted his hat just enough to uncover the sharp, pointed ears that his dark hair couldn't quite hide. The bartender's expression remained passive as he set down the glass and reached under the bar. He produced a small gold coin and set it on the surface, sliding it toward the elf. "Just down the hall," he said, jerking his head toward the back right corner of the room. The elf nodded and took the coin, before heading straight for the indicated doorway.

Beyond the open doorway was a short hall with three doors. The two against the right wall were restrooms, but the one to the left was guarded by two tall, broad men with hair that fell past their ears and noses, hiding their faces above the mouth. The elf strode up to them and tossed the gold coin into the air. The man on the left snatched it up and pushed his long hair aside, revealing one large eye in the center of his face. The eye examined the coin closely, before its owner pocketed it and nodded curtly to his fellow, who stepped aside and opened the door to allow the elf entrance.

The back room of Farley's was populated as it ever was with magical creatures of all shapes and sizes. It was one of the few places inside the city that was safe for beings like them, and had become a popular meeting place for friends from different walks of life. Keeping themselves secret from the outside world was difficult, and many times they needed places where they could go and relax. This was one of few such places.

"Davey, you're late!"

The elf glanced to his left at the sound of a familiar voice calling his name to see his two usual companions seated at a nearby table, both with drinks in front of them. "I see you started without me again, Pike," Davey observed with a grin as he strode over and seated himself in the empty chair at their table.

"Eh, we got tired of waitin'," Pike replied with a wave of his hand. "So what took you? Ain't you usually out of work by eleven?"

Davey ordered a drink from a nearby waitress with pointed ears and blue skin before turning back to his friends and answering, "I was on my way here when I heard some interestin' news."

"Interestin' news?" Pike repeated, eyebrows shooting up inquisitively. "What kind'a interestin' news?"

Davey waited until the waitress had set his drink down and moved away from their table before leaning in close and dropping his voice. "They're sayin' the Dark Dragon's back in power."

"The Dark Dragon?" the third of their party whispered, eyes wide. "I thought he was s'posed to be dead."

"You and me both," Davey admitted grimly. "But now there's rumors goin' 'round that he ain't so dead as we been led to believe. Word is he's layin' low, waitin' for the right time to show his'self."

"That dragon gives guys like us a bad name," Pike said with a scowl. "Last time he tried to take over the world we was this close to gettin' discovered." He held up his thumb and index finger for effect. "If we got any hope of livin' in peace, somebody's gotta stop him."

"But who?" the third elf wondered, scratching his head. "It was the last American Dragon that beat 'im before, and he ain't around no more."

"And the new one's still a bit wet behind the ears," Davey pointed out.

"Hey," Pike said suddenly, "what about the Red Hunter?" When his friends remained silent, he went on, "Think about it. She's already taken out scores o' Huntsclan goons, right? From the stories I've heard, she sounds unstoppable. She might have a chance o' takin' on the Dark Dragon."

"Who is the Red Hunter?"

All three elves jumped in surprise at the fourth, unfamiliar voice that broke into their hushed conversation. They turned to see a tall man in a long, black trench coat seated alone at the closest table, twisted around in his chair to look at them with an interested expression. "Forgive me for eavesdropping," he went on at the looks on their faces, "but I've heard these rumors of the Dark Dragon as well. When I heard your mention of him, I only wondered if there'd been any more news. So who's this Red Hunter?"

"You haven't heard the stories?" Pike asked incredulously, eyebrows raised.

When the man shook his head, Davey answered, "No one knows who she is or where she came from. She first showed up a couple years ago, and she's been poppin' up around the country ever since. She seems to be huntin' the Huntsclan, seein' as everywhere she's sighted we get word of one o' their hideouts bein' attacked. The kids in our neck o' the woods are callin' her a hero – she's even got her own magical fan club."

"Marv here actually saw her once," Pike offered, "didn't you, Marv?"

The third elf, Marv, nodded in agreement. "My village was attacked by a Huntsclan team a few months back," he explained in a low voice. "The Hunter showed up and took 'em all down, easy as weedin' a garden. Tell the truth, she was scary – dressed all in red with a hood coverin' her face. She stuck around to make sure we was all okay, then just like that she was gone."

"She's that powerful?" the man in the trench coat said, sounding surprised.

Pike nodded. "Some of us are thinkin' she might'a been a member o' the Huntsclan once, since she knows so much about 'em. But no one's ever gotten close enough to ask."

The man frowned, looking thoughtful. "I wonder if she's heard the rumors of the Dark Dragon," he said. "Maybe someone should ask her for help."

"Would if we could," Davey agreed, "but like I said, no one knows how to contact her."

"She does seem to know the American Dragon, though," Pike pointed out. "Maybe we could ask her?" Davey shrugged in reply.

"Hmm…" the man hummed, seeming deep in thought. "Well, if the Dark Dragon really is back, this Red Hunter may be our only hope." Suddenly he rose to his feet and straightened his coat, placing a hat over his short-cut, black hair. "Thanks for the information, friends. Maybe we'll get a chance to talk again sometime." The three elves waved goodbye as the man turned and strode toward the back door.

Once outside, the man buttoned his coat and turned on the sidewalk to see another man leaning casually against the building wall. "I should have known you'd follow me here, Gregory," the trench-coat-clad man said with a small smirk as he strode past the other and continued down the street.

"Nice to see you, too, Donovan," Gregory replied as he fell into step beside his companion. "Learn anything of interest?"

"The plan seems to be going along smoothly," Donovan replied, shoving his hands into his pockets. "…But there may be a potential snag. Tell me, have you heard of the Red Hunter?"

Gregory's eyebrows creased in thought. "Only rumors," he answered. "She's something of a vigilante in the magical world."

"I think I'd like to pay her a visit," Donovan mused, glancing toward the dark, cloudy sky as tiny pinpricks of rain fell against his face.

"Good luck," Gregory scoffed. "The Huntsclan's been after her for years and they've yet to pin her down."

"It just so happens I know of someone who may be able to help us," Donovan said, causing Gregory to turn sideways and raise an eyebrow. "A friend of hers, so to speak."

"Hmm… A friend, huh?" Gregory repeated with mild interest.

Already a plan was beginning to form in the back of Donovan's mind. "Pack a bag, Gregory," he said with a smirk. "We're going to New York City."

* * *

And we're rolling! FYI, this story is much shorter than Dragon Blood, so don't be expecting another freakishly long journey with me, haha. I already have it completely done and written, so no unplanned hiatuses, and it's only 8 chapters plus a prologue and epilogue (so 10 in all). But the chapters are all a bit longer, so I'm not really sure what the true comparison would be.

Anyway, drop me a review and let me know if you're along for the ride, and I'll get the first real chapter up sometime next week.

See ya soon!

-oMM


	2. Shadow

Hi again! First real chapter here :) This one's a bit on the short side, but it needed to end where it does, so I didn't really have a choice. I have a tendency to be a bit excessive with my writing and I really tried not to do that with this story and to stick more on-topic, so we'll see how well it works.

Thanks to everybody that read/reviewed/followed/favorited/etc - glad to have you on board!

Ready for the real plot introduction? Heeeeeere we go!

* * *

The Red Hunter. That was the name that the magical world had started calling her. And to be honest, she supposed it fit. After all, she was something of a hunter, and she did wear all red. What else could she have expected? Though she had never asked for the name, at the end of the day, she had to admit she liked it. It gave her a reputation. And in that, it made her feel like she had a purpose, like she was strong – someone to be feared and respected. And where was the harm in that?

The Hunter smiled to herself as she crept up to the back of the small house in the Upper West Side of Manhattan, New York, her face hidden beneath her hood and the shadows from the setting sun providing her the perfect cover. She prided herself in her ability to sneak into any place she set her sights on, no matter how guarded or fortified. As practiced as she was breaking into Huntsclan strongholds, she found it almost laughably easy to pick the lock on the back door of the simple, urban dwelling and slip inside the kitchen beyond it.

The room was empty, but she could hear muffled voices coming from the door against the opposite wall. There were dishes in the sink and on the counter was perched a tall, beautifully-frosted cake with writing adorning it in fancy lettering. The Red Hunter eyed the cake silently and crept across the floor. When she noticed the knob on the opposite door turn, she dashed into the shadows just to its left, dropping out of sight as it was pushed open from the other side.

A young, teenage girl with dark hair walked easily into the kitchen, not having noticed the Hunter hiding beside the door. With a soundless smirk, the Hunter stepped forward and grabbed the girl from behind, causing her to scream in surprise and spin around with alarming speed.

"Rose!" the girl breathed with a sigh of relief as the Hunter started to laugh. "I didn't think you were coming!"

Rose pulled down her hood to reveal her smiling face. "What, and miss the American Dragon's fourteenth birthday? Wouldn't dream of it." She wrapped Haley Long in a tight hug, laughter dying down.

"Well, you're just in time for cake!" Haley told her as she picked the cake up off the counter and carried it back toward the living room door. "Come on!"

The living room was occupied by Haley's parents and grandfather, as well as Fu Dog and Trixie Carter (Rose supposed Haley had had a separate birthday party with her school friends, none of whom knew about her secret second life). They all greeted Rose fondly as she took a seat on the sofa next to Trixie.

"What's crack-a-latin', girl?" Trixie said, bumping a fist against Rose's gloved hand as she moved over to make room.

"Where's Spud?" the hunter asked her friend.

Trixie took a sip of her soda and set it on the table. "Home-boy's got some big exam in the A.M.," she explained. "Said he had to 'rest his noggin'."

"It's September," Rose pointed out in wonder. "How's he having exams already?"

Trixie shrugged. "Think his prof wanted to 'test the class's knowledge' or somethin'."

"Are you hungry, Rose?" Susan asked from across the room. "There's some leftover lasagna in the fridge, if you want it."

"No, thanks, Mrs. Long," Rose replied with a polite smile and a shake of her head. "I ate already."

"Well, you can't say no to a slice of my wife's famous vanilla pudding cake," Jonathan cut in, picking up the knife on the cake plate and cutting into it. Rose laughed and accepted a thin slice, admitting that it was indeed delicious.

"How long are you staying?" Haley asked once the cake had been distributed.

"I can stick around for a few days and catch up with you guys," Rose replied. It had been almost three months since her last visit, after all.

"Well, you know you're welcome to stay here," Susan offered. "Our guest room is always open."

"So, what'cha been up to?" Trixie asked after a moment.

Rose leaned back against the cushion and swallowed the bite of cake in her mouth. "Oh, the usual," she answered. "Hunting the Huntsclan, saving the world. I actually just came off a job back in Boston. And speaking of which…" She set her plate down and reached into the bag attached to her belt. She pulled out a small, gift-wrapped box and held it out to Haley. "Happy Birthday!"

Haley's eyes lit up as she took the box and tore the paper from it. She opened it and extracted a thin, chain necklace from which hung a spherical pendant. The sphere itself was a translucent cream color, and inside it swirled an unknown substance of varying shades of blue. "Wow…" Haley breathed, transfixed by the gem.

Fu Dog's ears perked up as he eyed the necklace. "Is that a mermaid pearl?" he asked incredulously.

"Sure is," Rose replied. "I got it from a mermaid tribe in the Boston Harbor. A group of Huntsclan had stolen their treasure horde and kidnapped one of their sisters. When I saved her and returned everything, they let me keep the pearl as a thank you." She looked at Haley and pointed a finger toward the gem. "Mermaid pearls are supposed to contain strong healing magic."

"The strongest," Fu Dog agreed, eyeing the stone with an appreciative gaze. "You should hold onto that, kid," he told Haley. "Might come in handy someday."

"I will," Haley promised, fastening the chain around her neck and setting the pearl neatly against the collar of her shirt. "Thanks, Rose!" Rose smiled and nodded in reply.

Just then, a ringing sound cut their conversation short. Fu Dog reached into one of the folds of his fur and produced a cell phone, which he promptly lifted to his ear, pressing a button. "Talk to the Fu," he said into it as Lao Shi turned to watch him expectantly. Everyone was silent for a moment, until the dog finally said, "Got it, sweetheart. Help's on the way." He hung up the phone and looked at Haley. "That was Veronica. Looks like a group of mountain trolls is causin' trouble in the Magus Bazaar, say they're lookin' for the Oracle twins. Veronica's hidin' the girls, but you better get your tail on over there and clear 'em out before they do too much damage."

"Sure thing," Haley replied dutifully, before swallowing the rest of her cake in one large bite.

"Why do these things always happen on school nights?" Susan asked rhetorically, shaking her head.

"I can go instead, if you want," Rose volunteered, sitting forward on the couch.

"No, that's okay," Haley insisted, rising to her feet. "You look kind of tired. You should stay here and rest a bit; I can handle a couple of mountain trolls." She grinned confidently, and Rose smiled to herself. The younger girl was really starting to remind Rose a lot of her brother.

After Haley had bid goodbye, Susan and Jonathan insisted that Rose head upstairs to get some sleep (Rose had never had parents of her own that she knew, so the Longs had seemed to take those roles upon themselves in the past few years. She often insisted that they needn't fuss over her like they did, but her assurances always fell on deaf ears. She didn't often say it, but she was more than grateful that they cared so well for her). With a final thank you and goodnight, Rose gathered her things and climbed the stairs. When she reached the guest bedroom she took a step through the doorway, but paused when her eyes traveled unbidden down the hall. She remained still for a few long seconds, chewing on her lip in thought, before she carefully set down her pack and weapons in the doorway and stepped back into the hall, coming to rest in front of a closed door just feet from the guest room. Her fingers danced against the knob as she eyed the woodwork, which looked just the same as it always did. The corners of her mouth lifted into a small smile as she twisted the knob and pushed the door open.

The room was simply furnished, looking almost identical to the guest bedroom in which she often stayed. But the feel of it was very different. Before the incident three years ago, she could count the number of times she'd been inside Jake's room on one hand. Since then, however, she had quickly lost count. At first, she had worried that she was intentionally subjecting upon herself some form of torture by continuing to visit, as it brought her nothing but pain and sadness amid the reminder that he was gone and never coming back. But now, when she entered the room, she was instead reminded of fond memories and happier times, and it always brought a smile to her face.

"I thought you might'a snuck in here again," a voice said from behind Rose, and she turned to see Trixie leaning against the doorframe with a knowing grin.

Rose smiled somewhat sheepishly. "I know it's not his room anymore, I just… I don't know," she said, eyes scanning around her. "It still feels the same."

"Yeah…" Trixie muttered, following Rose's gaze. "It's weird to think how things 'round here have sorta gotten back to normal." She looked down and shook her head, an almost sad smile on her face. "But then sometimes I still catch myself feelin' like there's somethin' missin'."

Rose didn't answer, but she knew the feeling. She'd felt it herself countless times in recent years, whenever she had nothing to keep her busy but her own thoughts and memories. She was happy with her life, there was no denying that, but at times she couldn't help but feel that weak sting of nostalgia for a time when things were different. 'Normal' now was still so different from 'normal' then, it was almost as if she was looking back on the lives of two completely different people. And she supposed that in a way, she was.

"Well, anyway," Trixie went on after a moment of comfortable silence, "I just came to tell you to drop by the school tomorrow, if you can. You know them kids love your surprise lessons." Rose giggled at the thought, remembering the last time she'd stopped by the karate school Trixie taught at. She'd barely been able to escape.

"Sure, I'd love to," she replied honestly.

As Trixie turned to leave, she stopped at the last second and leaned around the corner. She looked at Rose with a serious expression, a soft smile on her face. "You know I bet he'd be proud o' you," she said, "Miss Big-and-Bad Red Hunter." She offered a light-hearted grin, and disappeared down the hall.

Rose considered what she'd said, and found she couldn't help but smile. _Not just me,_ she thought as she left the room and closed the door behind her. _All of us._

-0-0-0-0-0-

"Go on, get out of here!" Haley shouted at the rapidly retreating forms of the gang of trolls, all of whom were fleeing with their arms raised high in surrender. "And don't let me catch you causing trouble around here anymore!" Once the trolls were out of sight, Haley dropped down to the ground as Veronica, flanked by the Oracle twins, emerged from behind a nearby shop.

"Looks like they're gone for good," Kara predicted in a dull, monotonous voice. "Yippee."

"Thanks, Haley," Veronica said. "It's good to know they won't be bothering us again."

"Why were they looking for you two, anyway?" Haley asked the sisters.

"Something about a gang war," Kara explained half-heartedly as Sara giggled for no apparent reason.

Haley shrugged. "Maybe I'll walk you home just to make sure," she suggested, before they bid Veronica goodnight and set off down the now empty street. "It must be hard, doing what you guys do," Haley observed conversationally as they walked. "Don't you get tired of people trying to use your visions all the time?"

"It isn't easy," Sara admitted in a light voice, "but we like helping people!"

"Yeah, yeah," her sister scoffed, waving a hand, though Haley could tell she agreed. "You're the same way, aren't you?" Kara went on, eyeing the dragon girl. "Everybody depends on you to help them with every little stupid thing. But you do it anyway because you want to." Haley considered this and realized she couldn't deny it. The job of the American Dragon was a tough one, but it was her duty, so she didn't complain. Maybe the Oracle twins looked at their gift in the same way.

"Ooh, it's about to smell really bad around here!" Sara interrupted, her tone just as bubbly as ever. "Everybody hold your nose!"

Haley barely had time to wonder what she meant before the air around them suddenly grew thick with some sort of noxious gas. She spread her wings and tried to leap into the air, but already the gas had entered her lungs and her vision was beginning to blur. She was vaguely aware of Sara and Kara dropping to the ground beside her before she was forced into a drug-induced sleep.

-0-0-0-0-0-

When Haley woke, the first thing she registered was that her hands had been chained together and attached to something above her head. The second was that she was in human form, and strangely weak. She tried shifting to her dragon form and quickly found that she could not, so instead she settled for inspecting her surroundings. She was in a large underground room with a wide opening to her left, beyond which was only darkness. The room was lit by a single torch perched on the wall opposite the one she sat against, and the surfaces around her were pure earth, as though the chamber had been dug out of the ground just recently. To her right, Kara and Sara were tied back-to-back, slowly coming around as well.

"Psst, hey," she whispered to them. Sara, who was facing her, glanced up at her voice. "Where are we? Did you guys see anyone?"

Sara shook her head. "We're in quite the pickle, here!" she sang, giggling quietly.

Haley let out an exasperated sigh, wracking her brain to come up with a plan – or at the very least, an explanation. It could have been the Huntsclan that had taken them, she supposed, but thanks to Rose their numbers had been steadily dwindling recently, especially on the east coast. Could there have been a group that had managed to escape her radar? Haley struggled against the chains that bound her, attempting to break free.

"Don't waste your time," a voice suddenly broke through the silence, causing Haley's gaze to snap toward the chamber opening as two men strode purposefully into the room. The shorter one looked to be about her parents' age, with messy, brown hair and plain, tattered clothing. The taller one was likely a bit older, going by the light gray streaks in his short, black hair. He wore a long, black trench coat and a haughty expression. "Those chains are reinforced with unicorn horn and imbued with sphinx hair," the same voice explained, and Haley saw that it had come from the taller man. "You are virtually powerless."

"Who are you?" Haley demanded, not recognizing either of them.

"My name is Donovan Hayes," the tall man in the black trench coat supplied, offering her a short, polite bow. "I apologize for the inconvenience, but I have an interest in meeting with a friend of yours. And from what I hear, the Red Hunter is very difficult to contact directly."

"The Red Hunter?" Haley repeated, trying to keep her voice level as her worry grew. "I barely even know the Red Hunter. If you think she'll come just because you threaten me, it'll never work." Haley knew that was probably a lie, but the last thing she wanted was to endanger Rose. Maybe there was a way she could lead this Donovan off her trail.

"We'll see about that," Donovan said with a light smirk, eyeing Haley carefully.

"Why do you even care about her?" Haley asked curiously, deciding to go for a different approach.

Donovan turned and took a few aimless steps across the ground. "She poses a potential risk to my plans," he answered simply.

Haley narrowed her eyes, her mind racing. "What _plans_?" she said sharply. Rose was now a known defender of the magical world. If she was a threat to this man, then he must have been plotting something dangerous. "Who are you, really?"

He halted near the torch, the light playing off his evil smirk and reflecting a dangerous gleam in his dark eyes. "I'm a shadow," he replied in a low voice, "a fraction of what I once was. But soon enough, that _will_ change, and this shadow will cover all the world in its darkness." He stepped back from the torch and his body was suddenly covered in dark flames. Haley shrank back against the wall involuntarily as the flames stretched and grew, and when they faded there stood in Donovan's place a great dragon with scales as black as night and covered in sharp, violet spikes. He let out a low, rumbling chuckle and Haley's eyes widened in fear. If she hadn't recognized his human form, she definitely recognized him now.

"You're…" she gasped as her mind and body went numb with cold, "…the Dark Dragon."

* * *

Remember, gang - no Season 2 in my timeline, which means no Hong Kong Longs and no 'Dark Dragon gets lost in a dimensional rift' thing, or whatever it was that happened there (to be honest, I don't completely remember, it's been so long), haha.

That being said, no one ever knew his human identity in the series, but it always sort of interested me. I have this picture in my head of what he'd look like, so I decided what the heck? Let's use it!

Also on a side note, I love writing the Oracle twins. That's why they ended up showing up in here, haha. I think they're great characters and have a lot of potential for fun writing.

Review for me and I'll see ya again soon!

-oMM


	3. Claw

Hey gang! Bit of a longer chapter for you this week. I meant to get this up yesterday, but I never got around to it. So, happy Friday instead!

There's some Spanish dialogue in this chapter (it'll make sense why when you get there, haha), the translations of which I list down in the notes at the end of the chapter. You can use like Google Translate or something if you want, but as anyone will tell you, it'll give you a literal translation which may or may not be exactly right. But it's not a lot, and nothing majorly important, so you can probably just scroll by and take it in stride. Anything important will, of course, be in English, haha.

Enjoy!

* * *

"That's not possible," Haley muttered in disbelief. "The Council took away your powers. How can you be here?"

The Dark Dragon only smirked. "Those fools underestimated me for the last time," he explained. "Now it's time I show them what I'm really capable of."

Haley's mind was reeling. The Dark Dragon had always been on the top of the Dragon Council's list of dangerous enemies. He believed that magical creatures were superior to humans and should take their rightful place as such. He had attempted to take over the world multiple times, but was always stopped by her brother or grandfather. The last time he'd been seen had been roughly four years ago, when Haley was only ten years old. Councilor Chang had escaped from confinement and together with the Dark Dragon had launched an attack on Draco Island, trying to destroy the Dragon Council and set themselves up as the new authoritative figures. Haley and her grandfather had rescued the Council and detained Chang while Jake, who had been fifteen at the time, squared off against the Dark Dragon and defeated him. Afterward, the Council had stripped both Chang and the Dark Dragon of their powers and sentenced them to life in prison. Haley had not heard from either of them since.

"I suppose that's all in good time," the Dark Dragon went on. "So you three had better make yourselves comfortable. And be sure to stay on your best behavior, you never know what could happen otherwise."

"Why bother? We're all gonna get out of here safely," Kara argued dully. "Yay, us."

"But not before we get lots of bug bites!" Sara pointed out with a high-pitched giggle.

"Oracles," the Dark Dragon observed, stepping over to eye the twins with intrigue. "Interesting. Well, American Dragon, at least you'll have some entertainment. Though I doubt they'll be helping you see a way out of here."

"Oh, good one," Kara said sarcastically, and though Haley couldn't see her face she had a feeling the twin was rolling her eyes. "Joke all you want, but the Red Hunter's still gonna defeat you. What a hero."

"_What?_" the Dark Dragon demanded, clenching his claws into fists and growling at Kara.

Haley saw Sara's eyes flash gold as she said, "But the American Dragon will be mortally wounded in the battle! That doesn't sound fun!"

_Wait… What?_ Haley thought, her body going cold as Sara froze and suddenly looked at her with wide eyes. "'M-Mortally wounded'?" Haley repeated, her voice shaking. That couldn't mean what she thought it did. "Like… I'll die?"

"I'm sorry, Haley!" Sara admitted, her voice light but her expression grave and a bit frightened. "Maybe I should have tried not to say that one…"

"The Red Hunter can't defeat me if she wants to save her _friend_," the Dark Dragon hissed, seemingly ignoring Sara and Haley's conversation. "We'll see who has the upper hand. Gregory! Let's go." The second man (who'd been decidedly silent throughout the entire visit) shoved his hands in his pockets in a vaguely bored manner as he turned and left the chamber, the Dark Dragon following close behind.

When they disappeared, Haley turned slowly back to the twins, her mind still running on overdrive. Not only was the Dark Dragon alive, free, and back in power, but he was plotting something dangerous that seemed to involve Rose somehow. And now Haley was supposed to die in the battle against him – a battle that Rose would eventually win? It was far too much to take in such a short amount of time.

"So… your predictions," Haley said haltingly, trying to keep her voice level. "Do they… _always_ come true?"

"Always," Kara answered.

"I'm sorry," Sara said again. "Bad news is the worst… Trust me, I should know."

"Well…" Haley went on with a frown, "at least Rose will beat him, right? Guess we have that to look forward to…"

"Yeah," Kara agreed. "Only problem is, we don't know when."

Haley bit her lip nervously, dropping her gaze to the dirt floor. Once the initial shock had settled, Haley decided that it didn't matter what sort of danger she would be in. After all, she risked her life on a daily basis for the sake of the magical world, didn't she? How was this any different?

If the Dark Dragon really was back and planning something big, he would have to be stopped. No matter the cost.

-0-0-0-0-0-

"It's no use. I can't find her anywhere."

Lao Shi glanced up as Rose let the shop door close behind her and sat down with a huff on the couch against the wall. "Haley was at the Magus Bazaar last night, that much is certain," she went on. "But after she drove off the trolls, the trail turns cold. She must have disappeared sometime between then and now."

"This does not bode well…" Lao Shi observed, looking distressed as his eyebrows creased in thought.

"Alright, thanks anyway," Fu Dog said into the phone against his ear as he emerged from the back room. "Spread the word, and call me if you hear anything." He hung up the phone and looked up at the others with a sigh. "No good. I been on the phone all morning lookin' for info, but nobody's seen head or tail of the American Dragon since last night. This just ain't like the kid…"

"I hope she's okay…" Rose said quietly, wringing her hands together. When she had woken that morning, Rose had learned that Haley had not returned from her trip to the Magus Bazaar the previous night. Her parents were understandably very worried, and she had promised to do whatever she could to locate the young dragon. However, no matter where she looked or whom she spoke to, Haley had still remained to be found.

Just then there was a knock on the back door. With a puzzled expression, Fu Dog turned and retreated into the back room, returning a minute or so later with a small, glowing envelope. "Mail for you, gramps," the dog said, holding out the envelope for the old man to take.

As soon as Lao Shi tore open the envelope, a cloud of thick, dark smoke rose from it and hovered in the air and a deep voice said, "It's been quite some time, Lao Shi." Rose thought the voice was vaguely familiar, but she was spared the need to remember when the image of a sneering black dragon appeared amid the cloud of fog.

All three of them gasped as Fu Dog muttered, "The Dark Dragon…"

"As I'm very busy these days, I'll keep this short," the message continued. "I have the American Dragon." Rose's eyes widened and she noticed Lao Shi place a hand over his mouth. "If you want to see your granddaughter alive again, I need you to deliver a message for me: I want the one they call the Red Hunter."

_No…_ Rose thought, her stomach dropping in dread and guilt. _Haley was taken… because of me?_

"Tell her to pay me a visit at the coordinates on the envelope. And make it quick – I'm not the most generous of party hosts." A low, rumbling laugh echoed in the air, before the smoke faded and the image vanished from view.

"I thought the Dark Dragon lost his powers after the last time he messed with us," Fu Dog pointed out, scratching his head and looking worried.

"Perhaps he has met with a sorcerer of some kind," Lao Shi suggested gravely. "If he has returned, then we may be headed for another difficult battle…"

Rose stood up, a steely glare on her face. "What are the coordinates?" she demanded in a level voice.

"You're not actually thinking of going along with this, are ya?" Fu Dog asked suspiciously.

"What choice do we have?" Rose asked rhetorically. "You heard him, he's got Haley. And all he wants is the Red Hunter. Sounds like a no-brainer to me."

"I fear the Dark Dragon may be too powerful for you to handle alone," Lao Shi said, sounding reluctant, "especially if he has help. But there may be a way we can stall him. He does not know you are here, otherwise this message would not have come to me."

"So?" Rose asked impatiently.

"So," Fu Dog cut in, apparently catching on, "as far as he knows, we gotta wait 'til the next time you drop in to give you the word. That'll buy us some time."

"We should inform the Dragon Council of this at once," Lao Shi went on, clasping his wrinkled hands together.

"And you, Miss Hunter," Fu Dog addressed Rose, "you'll have time to go find help."

Rose sighed shortly, wanting to argue but seeing the sense in this plan. If they were to face the Dark Dragon and rescue Haley, they would need help. "Where should I go?"

"Well, the closest contender would be the Canadian Dragon," Fu Dog explained as he strode behind the front counter and pulled out a large, leather-bound book, "but that guy's a few goals short of a hat trick, if ya know what I mean. I recommend we go south and seek out the Mexican Dragon." He flipped quickly through the pages as Rose came to lean over the counter and glance down at the book. "Here we go," he said finally, coming to rest on a picture of a tall, slim, green-and-white dragon beside a short description. "Ana Valdeza, age twenty-four. She's a real hot-blooded dame if I ever saw one, got a reputation for seekin' out trouble. She's a tough cookie, though, and good at her job. She should be able to help us out."

"But won't that take too long?" Rose wondered nervously. Mexico was a bit further away than she thought they might have time for.

"The Underground Express can get you cross-country in under a day," Fu Dog said, slamming the book closed and hopping down from the counter. Rose knew the train he was referring to. The Underground Express was a magic passenger train that ran underground across the mainland United States, and traveled at surprising speeds. _This could actually work…_ Rose couldn't help but think. "But from there, you're on your own," Fu Dog went on. "Ana lives in Chihuahua, in northern Mexico. You'll have to book it, but if all goes well you should make it back in under three days."

"If the Dark Dragon intends to use Haley as bait, we can be relatively sure that he will not harm her during that time," Lao Shi pointed out. "We must be prepared if we intend to defeat him again."

"Alright," Rose finally conceded, mentally preparing herself for her journey. "Let's do this."

-0-0-0-0-0-

Haley was unsure how much time had passed before she finally heard footsteps echoing from the passage to her left. The torch across the chamber had long since burned out, throwing the three girls into an inky darkness. The air was so quiet she could hear the tiny steps of insects scurrying across the dirt, and every time she moved her chains clanged so loudly it jarred her teeth. Sara and Kara had been surprisingly silent as well, as though the darkness had even blocked out their usually frequent visions. In the quiet, Haley had little to do but think to herself. She knew the Dark Dragon was likely planning the same thing he always seemed to be planning – the subjugation of the human world in favor of his own imagined superiority. She also knew that if there was ever any hope of a peaceful existence between the human and magical worlds, he had to be stopped before he poisoned the world's opinion of magical creatures forever.

Kara had predicted that the Red Hunter would defeat the Dark Dragon, but Haley had no way of knowing how or when. It could be days from now, or even years in the future, after too much irreparable damage had been done. And then there was Sara's prediction to consider, though Haley had taken to attempting with all her consciousness to keep _that_ particular vision from the forefront of her mind. She couldn't deny that she was afraid of dying, but at the same time she wanted more than anything to make sure the Dark Dragon was stopped as soon as possible, regardless of what that might mean. It was frustrating, more than anything, being trapped and powerless in some underground chamber somewhere she didn't know, being used as bait for one of her best friends and all but at the mercy of her captors. She only hoped Rose and her grandfather had been able to come up with a plan that didn't involve Rose's turning herself in.

The footsteps that she eventually heard, as it seemed, did not belong to Donovan as Haley had thought, or even Rose as she had feared. The person that instead came into view was the man who had accompanied the Dark Dragon on his previous visit. He was dressed in the same clothes and carrying a new torch, which he wordlessly carried to the sconce on the wall and replaced the burnt-out one.

"Hey," Haley said to him, realizing she still had no idea who he was or how he came to be involved with the Dark Dragon. "So how do you fit into all this?"

The man turned to face Haley, eyeing her with mild interest. "I'm something of a benefactor to Donovan's cause," he explained simply.

"But you're human, aren't you?" Haley went on. "Are you a sorcerer? Who are you, anyway?"

"Since you asked," he said with a shrug, "my name's Gregory Gray. And I guess you could say I'm a sorcerer. I've been helping the Dark Dragon regain his powers."

This man, Gregory, just seemed so strangely _normal_ to Haley that she was having a hard time processing what he was saying. He didn't seem evil or deranged, or bent on destruction or domination. He spoke as though he were discussing a simple business transaction or a trip to the shopping mall. "But why?" she asked incredulously. "You have to realize what he'll do once he's strong again. He's the Council's big baddie for a reason."

"I know exactly what's gonna happen," Gregory said, a small twinge of resentment entering his voice. "And I don't care. I lost my wife and daughter because of the cruel people in this world, and it's time they were taught a lesson." He glared at Haley and added, "Especially you dragons who think the world is yours to save."

_Gregory Gray…_ Haley repeated in her mind, something triggering in the far reaches of her memory. _Gray… Why do I know that name? _When it suddenly came back to her, her eyes shot open wide in stunned realization. "You're Ebony's father!" she said aloud.

The corner of Gregory's mouth twitched in a mirthless smirk. "My daughter was lost," he said, proving Haley's suspicion true. "I didn't know what she was doing at the time, but if I had I could have stopped her. All we wanted to do was live in peace, but _your brother_ killed her before I got that chance." His eyes flashed and Haley's throat tightened in dread. If this man truly had a reason for hating her and her friends and family, then he was more dangerous than he seemed. "From what I hear, he already got what he deserved," Gregory went on with a satisfied smirk. "Now it's your turn."

A sudden and unbidden anger welled up inside Haley at his words. "What Ebony did to Jake was horrible and unfair," she said firmly, blinking away the unwanted tears that stung at her eyes as she thought of her brother and everything he'd been through in the weeks leading up to his final fight with the half-gorgon girl. "She turned him against the people he loved. What kind of person does that?" Haley shook her head vigorously, swallowing hard and turning to glare at Gregory. "There was no helping her."

"You don't know that," Gregory insisted, his voice strangely calm. He walked over toward Haley and leaned down, looking her straight in the eye. Haley met his gaze unblinkingly as he said in a low voice, "People in this world don't understand second chances. Soon they'll see what it's like not to be given one." With that, he turned and strode out of the chamber, leaving Haley and the sisters alone again.

"You'll get what's coming to you!" Sara called after him in a high, sing-song voice, tilting her head to the side.

"Great…" Haley mumbled, hanging her head as a cacophony of thoughts buzzed around her mind. "Looks like this is a lot more complicated than I thought…"

-0-0-0-0-0-

Rose reached the city of Chihuahua, Mexico late the following day to find it buzzing with activity. As she strode down the crowded street, keeping her hood pulled over her head to protect her face from the blazing sun, she read through Fu Dog's instructions for at least the tenth time before stuffing the small slip of paper back into the pack on her belt. She pulled out the small, bronze coin the dog had given her and examined it closely, rubbing a finger over the flower engraved on its surface.

Before long she came to a small herb shop with a sign mounted atop the door reading _'__Miscelánea de la Tierra'_. _This must be the place,_ she thought, before pushing open the door and stepping inside. A tiny bell rang announcing her presence, and the shopkeeper – a middle-aged woman with dark hair and tanned skin – looked up from the front counter.

"Buenas tardes," the woman said with a smile. "¿Como puedo ayudarle?"

"Estoy buscando alguien," Rose responded to her question, stepping up to the counter and holding out the bronze coin. The woman took the coin and examined it, before giving a curt nod.

"Sígame," she said with a wave of her hand, beckoning Rose toward the door against the back wall. Rose followed obediently through the door and into a small back room with a low ceiling. Inside was an old man seated at an oversized desk which was covered in piles of open books of all shapes and sizes. He was bent low over the pages of the closest one, examining something through an eyeglass.

"Señor Maríllo," the woman said, causing the man to look up from the text and set down his eyeglass. The woman nodded to Rose and retreated from the room, leaving the two alone.

"Ah," Mr. Maríllo mused, leaning back in his chair as he looked over his visitor. "La Cazadora Roja." Rose frowned and cocked her head to the side, slightly surprised that he seemed to know who she was. "What can I do for you, Red Hunter?" he asked, his English heavily accented.

"I'm looking for the Mexican Dragon, Ana Valdeza," Rose explained. She told him of their plight and the reasons for which they were in need of Ana's assistance, watching his frown deepen as she spoke.

"The Dark Dragon…" he repeated, rubbing his chin in thought and looking troubled. "Dark indeed. I am certain Ana would be glad to help you, but I'm afraid you will have to seek her out yourself. Magical activity has been quiet lately and she has rarely had cause to visit the city. I have not seen her myself in many months now."

"Do you know where I can find her?" Rose asked, starting to grow worried for time.

"She resides in the northern portion of the Sierra Madre mountains," Mr. Maríllo replied. "She likes to roam the forest along the eastern border of the mountain range. It is not far from the city, but be careful," he warned, holding up a finger. "Ana chose the area due to its high density of dangerous creatures. She prefers to seek out trouble before it can cause much damage to the city."

_Gee, sounds fun,_ Rose thought with a wry smile. "Thank you, Señor Maríllo," she said.

He inclined his head in response, saying, "Buena suerte, Cazadora Roja." Rose offered him a polite bow before she turned on her heel and left the shop.

It was twilight by the time she reached the edge of the forest, and the thick trees blocked out all but the palest shafts of orange light, piling dark, oddly-shaped shadows on the earthy ground. "Well, am I a hunter or aren't I?" she asked herself as her eyes scanned the trees, adjusting to the darkness. "Better get looking."

She knew she had to be near the right place, due to the numerous signs of past activity around her. The ground was littered with broken twigs and logs, as well as long-forgotten campfires. There were scratch marks scrawled across tree trunks and through the dirt, all adding together to evidence the many battles that must have taken place in those woods. If Ana Valdeza was anything like she'd been told, Rose supposed she shouldn't be surprised.

All of a sudden, she heard a vicious growl from somewhere very nearby. Alarmed, she whirled around, pulling a retractable Huntsclan staff from her back (painted red to match her clothing), just as a gray blur sprang from the trees straight toward her. She raised her weapon, but faster than lightning a fist of sharp claws dug across her left arm, causing her to cry out and drop the staff. As she turned, trying to spot her attacker, a pair of gigantic gray paws collided with her chest and shoved her onto her back, pinning her to the ground.

As she looked up, struggling to free herself, she finally was allowed a good look at the creature. Standing above her, drooling through bared teeth, was a huge, snarling wolf with shining, black eyes. It was easily larger than she was, and covered in coarse gray fur. Its teeth were each two inches long, and it boasted talon-like claws to match them. Rose's eyes widened beneath her hood as her body froze in sudden fear.

The creature let out a low growl and drew back its head, preparing to strike, when suddenly a voice called, "Down, boy!" just as something Rose couldn't see slammed into the wolf from the side, knocking it off of her and causing it to howl angrily. She heard the creature snarl again and the sweep of claws through the air, before the growl changed to a quiet whimper and heavy paws bounded off through the trees.

"Yeah, that's right!" the same voice sounded again, shouting after the creature in a light, haughty tone. "Back to the pack with your tail between your legs! That oughta teach ya who's Top Dog around here!"

Rose sat bolt upright, breath catching in her throat. Her rescuer couldn't have been Ana, because the voice was decidedly male. But more distressing than that was the fact the she _knew_ the voice – and hearing it brought a series of unwarranted chills down her spine and made her stomach flip violently. She stood slowly and faced the person, trying hard not to be sick.

"Necesita atender a los wargs," he told her, switching abruptly to Spanish as he turned around and looked straight at her. Evidently, he must have assumed she was from the area. "Rasgarán su cuerpo a jirones si no tiene cuidado." She didn't respond, her throat tightening painfully and blocking her voice. She could feel her mouth opening and closing in shock, though her hood shielded her face from view. When she remained silent, he took a step toward her, his eyebrows knitting in a concerned frown beneath dark, green-tinted hair still streaked with violent shades of red – just like the last time she'd seen him almost three years ago. "¿Está bien?" he asked, reaching out a hand.

Rose let out a long, shaky breath, nearly choking in the process as her rapidly-beating heart threatened to leap into her mouth.

"..._Jake?_"

* * *

Translation time! *ahem*

_"Miscelánea de la Tierra"_ – roughly "Earth Sundries"  
_"Buenas tardes"_ – "Good afternoon"  
"_¿Como puedo ayudarle?"_ – "How can I help you?"  
"_Estoy buscando alguien."_ – "I'm looking for someone."  
_"__Sígame."_ – "Follow me."  
_"La Cazadora Roja"_ – "The Red Hunter" (duh, haha)  
_"Buena suerte"_ – "Good luck"  
_"Necesita atender a los wargs."_ – "Gotta watch out for the wargs."  
_"__Rasgarán su cuerpo a jirones si no tiene cuidado."_ – "They'll tear you to shreds if you're not careful."  
_"¿Est__á bien?"_ – "You okay?"

Ugh, so many glaring red lines. I hate you, Microsoft Word. Why can't you bend to my bilingual will? It's not misspelled, darn it!

Anyway, all kidding aside, yes of course Jake's alive. How can I write a story for this show and not have him in it? I don't think I'd be able to handle it, haha. So next chapter we'll get to learn what he's been up to these past three years! Hooray!

See everybody soon!

-oMM


	4. Fang

Hi again! I was gonna wait until tomorrow to post this, but today's my 23rd birthday, so I figured to shake things up I'll give all of you a present! Haha :) This is the longest chapter of the bunch, by the way, hope you like it!

Enjoy!

* * *

The sudden shock and fear on Jake's face might have been funny if Rose hadn't been so stunned herself. "H-How do you—?" he stuttered in disbelief, staring at her unblinkingly. Then his eyes narrowed suspiciously as he dropped into a guarded stance and demanded, "Who are you?"

Almost numbly, Rose reached up and wrapped her shaking fingers around the hem of her hood. When she pulled it down and allowed the dim light to illuminate her face, Jake's eyes grew to almost three times their normal size. He looked like he'd been slapped in the face.

"Oh, no…" he muttered in a low voice, shaking his head very slightly. Rose swallowed hard and opened her mouth to force something out, but stopped when he suddenly turned and bolted into the trees.

"Wait!" she shouted, stumbling just a bit as she darted after him. He wove swiftly between the trunks and branches, his dark green clothing blending in with his surroundings. If it wasn't for the red in his hair, Rose would likely have lost sight of him. But fast as she was, she knew she couldn't keep following him forever. So instead she pulled out a small blast gun and aimed it carefully. She was _not_ letting him get away. "Sorry, Jake," she said quietly, before pulling the release and firing through the trees.

The shot hit him in the back and knocked him off his feet, sending him stumbling and rolling across the ground. When Rose caught up with him, she tossed the weapon away and leapt forward, throwing herself on top of Jake just as he was starting to push himself up from the dirt. She dug her knees into the ground on either side of him and clamped her hands over his arms, pinning him forcefully to the ground.

With a frustrated growl he stopped struggling and glared up at her, breathing fast. "What are you doing here?" he said harshly.

"Me?" Rose demanded incredulously, feeling strangely angry all of a sudden. "_Me?_ What are _you _doing here? I thought you were _dead!_"

"That's 'cause I wanted you to!" he shot back, a flash of desperation crossing his eyes.

Rose blinked in surprise. "What?" she said, her mind reeling out of control. He clucked his tongue and turned his head, seemingly avoiding her eyes, and all she could do was stare at him.

Jake was alive. Jake was _alive_. He was right in front of her, just as real and substantial as she was. She'd thought and dreamed of him so often in the past few years that some tiny corner of her brain seemed convinced that this couldn't be real – that she was simply deluding herself in some impossible fantasy. But the truth of the matter was that even she couldn't imagine a situation like the one she'd found herself in, which meant that there could be no denying it. It had to be real.

There were so many questions buzzing around in Rose's head that she wanted to blurt out at once, and her tongue seemed to be having a hard time deciding which to voice first. "I don't understand," she ended up saying, shaking her head in a futile attempt to quiet the dull ache that was forming behind her eyes. "How are you here? How did you survive?" Then suddenly another thought pushed itself to the forefront of her mind as she flashed back to their fateful battle against Ebony Gray all that time ago. "How did you break the curse?"

Rose saw Jake's jaw tighten as he turned to look at her again. "I didn't," he said firmly, his voice dropping. "Why do you think I didn't want anyone coming after me?"

"But…" she went on, confused, "you're still… _you_. If you didn't—"

"I learned to control it, okay?"

Rose fell silent, eyes widening sharply. Ebony's curse had been designed to turn Jake into a dangerous, mindless monster, and Rose had seen its effects herself when they were transported to that coliseum for their final battle. He had used its power to defeat Ebony, but at a great cost – he had nearly lost the weak control he'd been able to grasp over its assertion. Rose didn't like thinking about it, but he had almost killed her that day. She knew he had fought far past his mental and physical limits to keep the curse from taking hold of him, and until right then, she had even believed he'd gone so far as to give up his life to keep it from happening. And now not only was he alive, but he had figured out a way to control the monster inside him? The anger and confusion that had filled Rose's mind were gradually starting to fade as an unparalleled relief began to spread through her.

"So… are you gonna get off me?"

Rose flinched in surprise and pulled herself from her thoughts to see Jake looking up at her with an expression somewhere between amused and distressed. She raised an expectant eyebrow and he rolled his eyes.

"Don't worry, I won't run again," he conceded dully, before she released her hold on his arms and got to her feet. As he rose from the ground, brushing himself off and rolling his shoulders with a pained grimace, Rose noticed with a jolt that he was taller than she was now. His arms and legs were longer, his shoulders and chest broader. His hair was messier than she remembered it, so contrary to its former careful styling. But however different his appearance had become, his eyes told her without a doubt that he was still the same person she always knew, the same person she had wished more than anything she could see again.

"So you escaped that warehouse, after all," Rose observed after a minute, folding her arms in front of her.

"Yeah," Jake replied shortly, leaning back against the nearest tree trunk.

"Did you try to find us?" she went on, racing brain eager to get to the bottom of what had happened that day.

He paused for a second, cocking his head to the side in an almost nervous manner. "…Not exactly."

Rose let out a frustrated sigh. _He's gonna talk to me whether he likes it or not,_ she promised silently. "How'd you learn to control the curse?"

He bit down on the corner of his lip and frowned. "Not really 'control' it…" he said cautiously. "More like… suppress it. It's still inside me, I can feel it, it's just… easier for me to keep it there." Rose fell silent, contemplating his words. She could tell part of him was still afraid of the curse, and the potential damage it could cause. But if he had figured out a way to suppress it, that was still a good sign, wasn't it?

She swallowed hard before asking in a quiet voice, "Were you ever gonna come back?"

He looked her in the eye with a pained expression. "No." Rose sighed shortly, her sad, frustrated eyes boring into his. Honestly, it was the answer she'd been expecting, but that didn't make it any easier to hear. "I thought you'd be better off this way," Jake went on when she remained silent. "I know it wasn't right to lie to you, but you gotta understand that I just wanted to protect you – all of you."

Fueled by her frustration, Rose marched straight up to him, an adamant glare on her face. "Uh… Rose?" he said uncertainly, and she saw alarm flash across his dark eyes before she raised her right arm and smacked the back of her hand across his face, making him stagger backward against the nearest tree trunk.

Rose stood there silently fuming as she watched the surprise on Jake's face fade away to a sort of hurt regret. "Alright," he admitted in a strained voice, "I know I deserved—" He broke off as she grabbed his shoulders and without speaking yanked him into a tight hug, wrapping her arms around his neck and clutching her fingers over the fabric of his jacket. She felt his limbs stiffen with hesitation and heard his breath catch in his throat, but she held on for a long minute, focusing all her attention on the warmth and solidity of his body so close to hers, finally accepting completely that he was really there.

When she finally let go and backed away, she saw a confused apprehension in his eyes. "You're giving me mixed signals here," he said, a tiny hint of humor in his voice.

Rose felt a smile spread across her face. "You're right about one thing," she explained, "you shouldn't have lied to us. But that being said… I'm glad you're okay." She'd of course been angry at first when she'd realized he'd run and let them all believe him to be dead, but despite that she couldn't help but understand why he'd done it. And at the end of the day, it didn't really matter. Even as the seconds wore on, she could feel her anger ebbing away and a strange, giddy sort of happiness that she hadn't felt in a long time was rising in its place.

Jake grinned in reply – the first time he'd smiled since they'd started talking, Rose noticed with a smile of her own. "Hey," he began after a moment, "you never answered _my_ question. What are you doing here?"

"Oh!" Rose gasped, suddenly remembering the reason for her unexpected trip out of the country. "I'm looking for the Mexican Dragon."

His smile faltered at her answer. "Ana?" he said, a serious look in his eyes.

"You… know her?" she asked, caught off guard by his reaction. He opened his mouth to respond, but seemed to think better of it and instead closed it and looked down, eyes moving back and forth uncertainly. With a frown, Rose went on, "Where is she?"

"You won't find her," Jake replied simply.

"Why not?" she persisted.

He raised his head and looked her in the eye, a steely expression on his face as he answered, "She's dead."

Rose's eyes widened in shock. "What?" she said. "But… No one told me that…" Everyone she'd spoken to seemed to be under the impression that Ana was still living here in the mountains. What did he mean, she was dead?

"That's 'cause nobody knows," he answered. "Just me."

She studied him for a moment, but she could find nothing to suggest that he wasn't speaking true. And besides, what reason would he have to lie? "What happened?" she asked carefully.

"It's… kind of a long story," he answered evasively. Rose moved to the nearest broken tree stump and sat down on it purposefully, crossing her arms over her chest and looking at Jake with expectant eyes. He sighed in defeat and pressed his back against a tree. "Alright, fine," he conceded. "Guess I'd better start at the beginning."

Apparently, after he'd escaped the warehouse, Jake had decided immediately not to follow Rose and his grandfather. Instead, he'd traveled south, with the intention of getting as far away from the people he loved as he could. He had stayed mostly clear of populated areas across the country, so that when he lost his hold on the curse the only casualties would be forests and the occasional wildlife. Life on the run had made controlling the curse even more difficult, given the extraneous circumstances, and by the time he'd crossed the Mexican border he'd begun to fear he would soon lose himself forever. He hid out in the forests among the Sierra Madre mountain range, taking care to avoid any contact with other people.

After a little over a week, he had unexpectedly met Ana Valdeza, who'd been hunting in the forest. After a lot of prodding, he eventually told her about what he was and why he'd been lurking in the mountains, and to his surprise she'd wanted to help him. Ever since then, Jake had thrown all his energy into mastering the curse, with Ana helping out whenever she was able. She was extremely brave and loved a challenge, so she had taken to the task with a sort of excited vigor, which, according to Jake, had somehow given him confidence in turn. They met frequently for a while until he had become efficient in suppressing the curse's power, working together to hunt the creatures in the forest and protect the city from afar.

Then in April of 2012, roughly five months ago, Ana was informed of a pack of manticores that had taken up residence in the forest and were likely responsible for various disappearances in the city over the few prior weeks. She had decided to go after the pack alone, rather than inform Jake and take them out together. He found the pack by chance when the fight had spooked the other nearby forest creatures, but by that time the damage had been done. Ana had defeated the manticores, but she'd been infected with their deadly poison and was barely breathing when Jake found her. She knew she was dying, and as she had no family she asked him to be her successor – to take care of the city for her. She hadn't lasted long after that.

"I should've been there," Jake said, sounding frustrated. "She should've told me about the mission. Maybe if we took them on together…" He shook his head and lowered his eyes, kicking a rock across the dirt.

Rose watched him with sympathy. "You two were pretty close, weren't you?" she observed.

He looked up at her, a sad smile on his face. "I've been here for over two years," he said. "Ana was kind of like… the big sister I never had, you know? I just wish I could have done something to save her."

His use of the words _sister_ and _save_ in quick succession brought her train of thought screeching to a halt. "Oh, no—Jake," she said suddenly, her change in tone making his weak smile vanish and his eyes turn sharp, "I haven't told you what happened—why I needed Ana's help in the first place. It's Haley—she's been captured by the Dark Dragon."

"_What?_" he exclaimed, instantly standing up straight and looking almost sick. "When? How? I thought the Dark Dragon was dead!"

"So did we," Rose admitted, rising to her feet. "But Haley disappeared two days ago and yesterday we got a message from the Dark Dragon. Somehow he's back, and we don't know what he's planning but he wanted me to turn myself in to him in exchange for Haley's release. Your grandfather said we'd need help if we wanted to defeat him, so they sent me to find Ana. We never thought I'd find you instead." She paused, cocking her head to the side. _Maybe it's better this way,_ she thought to herself.

"He wanted you?" Jake repeated, looking vaguely confused. "Why? What have you been doing the past three years?"

"I'll explain later," Rose promised, waving a hand in the air. "Are you gonna help us, or what? You've defeated the Dark Dragon before – think you can do it again?"

"You mean… come back to New York?" he asked, a hint of nervousness in his voice.

"You can control the curse, right?" she persisted impatiently. "So why not?" When he didn't answer, Rose placed both hands on her hips and added, "Jake, your sister needs you. Please."

That seemed to make up his mind for him. "Alright, you win," he said, his expression hardening.

Rose grinned in satisfaction. _They wanted help_, she thought wryly to herself. _Wait until they see who I've got._ "We should get back as soon as possible," she said aloud. "I don't know how long your grandfather can stall the Dark Dragon."

"Right," he agreed. "Let me just grab something first, then we can get going." Rose flinched in surprise as he suddenly jumped up above the ground, changing to dragon form in midair before shooting off into the trees with a shout of, "Wait here!"

Without much else to do, Rose turned around and paced aimlessly across the grass, noticing that the sky had grown dark in the past half an hour or so that they'd been talking. Her eyes had adjusted well to the shadows, but the density of the trees kept her from seeing anything more than a few yards away from her. She could feel adrenaline rising in her veins at the thought of returning to New York with Jake and going after the Dark Dragon, and as the seconds ticked by her eagerness continued to increase.

After a minute or so, she heard a faint rustling of leaves somewhere off to her left. Her eyes snapped toward the sound, searching diligently for any sign of movement. "Jake?" she called, not remembering in which direction he'd flown off. Then a low growl reached her ears just as her gaze came to rest on two small pinpricks of light. "Not Jake," she said to herself, whipping out her staff and dropping into a fighting stance. She rolled to the side just as the same giant, gray wolf she'd met earlier that evening sprang from the trees, claws aiming for her chest.

The wolf landed hard against the dirt as Rose dodged the attack, its fangs bared wide in an angry snarl. She spun around and braced her staff just as it lunged toward her again, opening its jaws wide. She flipped to the side and swung her staff at the creature, hitting it on the back and knocking it to the ground. It was back on its feet in an instant, however, and staring her down as she edged around it. She aimed her staff and fired a blast bullet toward the wolf, but it dodged deftly to the side and darted toward her, swinging its long claws and scratching her left arm, throwing her to the ground. It turned and tensed its back legs, ready to dive, when suddenly it made a horrible screeching sound and fell sideways, landing hard in the dirt.

Puzzled, Rose climbed to her feet and stepped slowly toward it, eyeing it warily. Its eyes were open and its tongue was hanging out between its sharp fangs, but it had stopped breathing and was decidedly dead. Rose's eyes fell on the shaft of a dark green arrow protruding from the back of its neck, and she raised her head to peer into the darkness just as Jake emerged from between the trees, back in human form.

"Guess it came back for a rematch," he observed, nudging the wolf with his foot and seemingly inspecting it to ensure that it wouldn't get up. He caught Rose staring in confusion at the still-strung bow in his hand and grinned in amusement. "What? We're in a _forest_. I needed a long-distance weapon that didn't involve fire."

Rose laughed, shaking her head. "That's twice you've saved me from that thing," she pointed out, retracting her staff and replacing it in the holster across her back. "Did you get what you needed?"

"Yeah," he answered, placing a hand over the pocket in the lower right corner of his jacket.

"Then let's go, Robin Hood," she said with a light smirk. "Your sister's waiting."

-0-0-0-0-0-

"Tell me you got some decent news."

"Wish I could, Trix," Spud's voice replied from the cell phone speaker pressed against Trixie's ear as she exited the subway car in northern Tribeca. "Magic network's been buzzin' with talk of the Dark Dragon's return, but it looks like everybody's too spooked to do anything about it. Can't say I blame the guys; the DD's one scary dude."

"Got that right," Trixie agreed, thinking back to their previous encounters. She hadn't exactly been expecting any help from the lay magical community, but if they wanted Haley back and Rose alive they had to exhaust every possibility. "What about Haley?"

"Word's gotten around about her disappearance," Spud confirmed, "but as for clues we're in the dark. Wherever he's got her, he's sure not puttin' up road signs."

Trixie sighed heavily, rubbing her forehead with her free hand. "I'm almost at the shop. Keep with the diggin', Spudinski, and shoot me the update."

"Roger, Captain Carter," he said in affirmation, and Trixie smiled to herself as a clear vision of her boyfriend offering her a mock-salute passed through her mind. "Call you later?"

"Answer you later," she replied. "Love you, boy."

"Back at you."

Trixie pulled the phone from her ear and ended the call before stuffing it in her pocket as she pushed open the door to the Canal Street Electronics shop, ignoring the 'Closed' sign hanging in the window. "Heya, Gramps. Dog," she greeted Lao Shi and Fu Dog upon entering. "How'd it go?"

"Not so hot, kid," Fu Dog answered gravely. The two had recently returned from a meeting with the Dragon Council, during which they had planned to inform the leaders of their message from the Dark Dragon and plead for time and assistance. Trixie tossed her duffel bag onto the sofa and listened attentively as the dog elaborated. "They took the news of the Dark Dragon's return about as well as expected. They wanted to use the coordinates he gave us and launch an attack to destroy the place."

Alarmed, Trixie interjected, "What about Haley? They gonna at least get her out first?"

Fu Dog shook his head, looking frustrated. "Didn't seem to matter," he said. "According to the Council, stoppin' the Dark Dragon is higher on the importance scale than the American Dragon's safety. Apparently it's a 'noble sacrifice' or some garbage."

"Yo, they can't do that!" Trixie argued, disgusted. "Who they think's been out there takin' care of all them magical monsters anyway? Man, that is messed up for _real_."

"Tell me about it, sister," Fu Dog agreed.

"We were able to convince them to give us a bit more time," Lao Shi put in with a frown. "When Rose returns with the Mexican Dragon, we have one chance to rescue Haley and stop the Dark Dragon. If we should fail… then the Council will take matters into their own hands."

"So we're gonna need all the help we can get," Fu Dog said. "Rose better get her tail on back here. We're runnin' out of time."

"I wish there was more we could do," Trixie said miserably, dropping onto the sofa with a huff. "Gramps, you faced the Dark Dragon before, right?" she asked, trying to sound hopeful.

"Yes," he admitted, "but I am not as strong as I once was. I do not know if I could defeat him again." He looked down in regret and Trixie's weak spirits fell. She was beginning to fear that their chances were growing grim.

"I know we agreed not to talk about it," Fu Dog said hesitantly, rubbing a paw against the back of his head, "but I gotta admit… I wish Jake was here. Bet'cha the kid'd know what to do."

Trixie felt a familiar pang of loss as Lao Shi said quietly, "You are not alone in that, Fu Dog. …Not alone."

-0-0-0-0-0-

It took Rose and Jake the greater part of the night to reach Las Cruces, New Mexico, where they could catch the 5 AM Underground Express trip back to New York City. During that time, Rose explained to Jake what she and his family had been doing during their time apart, as well as filling him in on various magical goings-on in their home country, including the Dark Dragon's full message and their plan to temporarily stall him while they sought assistance from the Dragon Council as well as the magical community.

When they boarded the train and located their cabin, Rose suddenly realized just how exhausted she was from the journey. It had been quite some time since she'd slept, given the fact that they'd wanted to reach Las Cruzes as quickly as possible. She tried and failed to stifle a wide yawn as they piled their things inside the room and locked the door behind them.

"Guess I'll crash on the floor," Jake offered, stretching his arms and nodding toward the single king-size bed in the cabin.

"Don't be stupid," Rose said with another yawn. She turned to the side so he wouldn't see the light flush in her face as she added, "The bed's big enough for both of us."

She could feel his eyes on her back as he said hesitantly, "You sure?"

It was true that the idea of sharing a bed with Jake made Rose's stomach flutter in a sort of awkward exhilaration. She had thought that after three years, she'd gotten over her slightly more-than-friendly feelings for him, but suddenly seeing him again after all that time had all at once broken her confidence and rekindled the dimmed fire inside her heart. But despite that, she knew she was probably overreacting and taking her relief that he was still alive for something more than what it was, and not to mention the fact that she had far more important things to focus her attention on. She was nineteen years old – if she couldn't be mature in a situation like this, then how could she even call herself an adult?

"Of course," she said in an easy voice, shaking herself off before turning and giving Jake a friendly smile. "Just don't get any ideas, Dragon Boy," she teased, wagging a finger at him.

He laughed, shaking his head. "Don't worry," he promised. "I'm so tired, I think I might fall asleep standing up in a minute."

"Same here," Rose agreed, moving to pull her pajamas out of her pack. She took them into the small bathroom and quickly changed and washed up, folding her shirt, jacket, pants, and boots into a neat pile. She exited the bathroom and set them down beside her pack and gear, stretching her sore limbs and loosing another yawn. Jake had shed his jacket and boots and was seated on the edge of the bed, his fingers toying with a small, round object.

With a puzzled frown, she strode across the room and seated herself next to him, looking down at the device in his hands. She had caught him playing with it a few times since they'd left the Sierra Madre mountains, but every time before she could ask he'd stow it away in his jacket pocket and go on as though nothing had happened. "What's that?" she inquired carefully when this time he made no attempt to hide the item.

He looked over at her with an unreadable expression, before dropping his eyes back to the object in his hands. He held it out to her and she reached forward, taking it gingerly from his grasp.

"A compass?" she recognized the device. It was unlike any compass she'd ever seen, however. There were no markings on it indicating which direction was North, and instead of pointing straight the needle was slowly spinning around as if unsure where to stop.

"A magic compass," Jake corrected, watching the needle with careful eyes. "Ana gave it to me… the night she died. It's supposed to point toward the thing you fear most." He raised his head and stared at the wall across from them with unfocused eyes. "For Ana, that was anything that could threaten the safety of her city, so it always pointed her toward danger," he explained, his voice distant. "She called it her 'secret weapon'." His mouth twitched into a sad smile, and Rose felt a pang in her heart as she listened. "It let her find and stop anything dangerous before it could do any real damage." His smile faded and he blinked a few times, as if coming out of a dream. "But it doesn't work that way for me," he said in a heavy voice.

"Why not?" she asked slowly.

Jake held his hand out and she placed the compass back onto his palm. As soon as she let it go, the needle stopped spinning and came to a resolute halt, pointed directly at the person holding it. He moved the compass around his body, switching hands behind his back, and brought it to rest once again in front of him, the needle following his movement and pointing toward him all the while. A pained understanding grew inside Rose as Jake said with a mirthless smirk, "Because I always carry what I'm most afraid of with me."

"Your curse," Rose observed, not needing his affirmation to confirm that she was right. She could tell just by looking at him.

His eyebrows knitted together as he raised serious eyes to meet hers. "You have to understand why I did what I did," he said, his voice just a hair away from pleading with her. "I knew it would hurt you guys, but I'd rather have you alive and sad than dead because of me."

"I get it," Rose insisted, twisting her body sideways to better face him. "Really, I do. I can't imagine how hard it must have been for you to leave like that. But the thing is…" She hesitated, taking a heavy breath as he waited for her to finish. "I just wish you had more faith in yourself," she said quietly, placing a small smile on her face as she added, "Like I do." She reached out and wrapped both her hands around his, purposefully hiding the compass from view. "I know how strong you are," she went on, "and how badly you want to protect everyone. And not just your friends and family, but the entire magical world. You were their protector for years, weren't you? And you deserved to be. You have so much… fire in you."

The corner of his mouth lifted in a humored smirk. "Duh," he said, raising his eyebrows, "_dragon_."

"You know what I mean," Rose replied, rolling her eyes and nudging her shoulder against his. "You're tough, you're brave, you're determined, and you care so much about so many people. You're a hero, Jake. And no curse is ever gonna change that."

His eyes studied her seriously for a few seconds before his face broke into a grin. "You're really fueling my ego, you know that?"

"Great," she said sarcastically. "Just what I need, the old cocky Jake back."

"Aw, come on," he went on in a light voice, raising an eyebrow. "You know you missed me, baby."

Rose shrugged, unconsciously leaning forward. "Maybe a little," she admitted with a smile. Her heart skipped a beat when she realized how closely they were sitting, and she began to feel that familiar fluttering in the pit of her stomach as her gaze locked on his dark eyes, taking in the sight and thinking for the hundredth time that night how glad she was that he was there. He was staring at her with just as much intensity, a tiny hint of uncertainty in his expression. _I shouldn't do this…_ her brain tried to tell her as she tilted her head upward. _We haven't seen each other in three years. I just missed him, that's all. _But even as she thought it, she knew it wasn't true. Some part of her definitely still had very real feelings for Jake, and right now that part was battling for control over the rest of her.

"We should get some sleep," Jake said quietly after a minute, sounding as though he were fighting with himself just as much as Rose was. "Especially if we've got a big fight coming up." He lowered his gaze and turned his head away, and instantly the invisible hold between them vanished. Rose let out the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding as he pulled his hands from hers and stood up, walking around to the other side of the room.

"Yeah…" she muttered in a defeated sort of voice. "Yeah, you're right." She swung her legs up onto the bed and drew back the blankets, lying down on her side and facing the wall. She pulled the covers up under her arm and felt the mattress move beneath her as he sat down on the other side.

As Jake turned off the light and the cabin was covered in darkness, Rose closed her eyes and tried to think of the battle they would face when she woke, rather than the person lying so closely behind her.

* * *

Alrighty! Thanks as always to all readers/reviewers. I don't think I have anything else to say this time... So see ya soon!

-oMM


	5. Scale

Hey gang! I totally meant to update this last week, then work got really busy and I completely forgot. But I'm back now! I like this chapter. It's mostly flashback, but I had a lot of fun writing it.

Time to get inside Jake's head... heh heh. Once again, there's some Spanish in this chapter. Translations are in the notes at the end. Just do "ctrl-F" to find them quickly if you need to. Enjoy!

* * *

_Jake could feel the fire before he opened his eyes._

_With a jolt he forced himself awake and lunged upward into a sitting position, regretting it instantly as a sharp pain shot through his left shoulder. His eyes landed on a small campfire a few feet away, and he felt a wash of momentary relief before the confusion set in._

"_Aquiete," a nearby, accented voice said calmly. "Su hombro está herido. Necesita cuidarse."_

_Looking around, Jake noticed the voice had come from a dark-haired girl sitting near the fire, absently tossing twigs into the flames and surveying him with bright, emerald eyes. Alarmed, he jumped to his feet, ignoring the dull throbbing in his shoulder, and fell reflexively into a guarded stance._

"_Está bien," the girl said, holding out her hands in what looked like a gesture of innocence. "No estoy su enemigo."_

_Was she speaking Spanish? _Duh, this is Mexico, _Jake though somewhat bitterly. _Great… I don't speak Spanish… _"Look, I don't know who you are," he said aloud, having no idea whether or not she understood him but having no other real alternative, "but you should just stay away from me. I'm not, uh… exactly safe." He'd already lost control far too many times since entering this forest – there was no telling when it might happen again. And he didn't want anyone anywhere near him when it did._

"_Oh! Sorry," she went on, suddenly speaking in English. "I didn't realize you were American. I just said you should take it easy. That shoulder's hurt pretty bad." She rose to her feet and straightened her jacket, brushing dirt from the legs of her pants. Jake realized she looked to be a few years older than he was, maybe twenty or twenty-one. She had tanned skin that seemed to shine bronze in the firelight, and sharp, angled features that gave her an elfish, mischievous look, like she had an exciting secret and was waiting for everyone else to figure it out. She was looking at Jake with a guarded expression, but not an unkind one._

"_Who are you?" Jake asked, not relaxing the tension in his body. A strange girl living out in the woods wasn't someone one could easily warm up to without a bit of explanation._

"_My name's Ana," she answered without hesitation. "And you can trust me, okay?"_

"_How do I know that?"_

_Ana quirked an eyebrow, looking amused. "Hey, I'm not the one who destroyed over an acre of forest."_

_Jake felt his stomach tighten nervously. "You saw that?"_

"_I _fought_ that," she replied, placing her hands on her hips. "How do you think you got here? Somebody had to knock you out, didn't they?"_

"_What?" he said blankly, surprised. Clearly this girl was a lot more than she seemed._

"_I was sent to find and destroy whatever it was that was laying waste to the forest," Ana explained matter-of-factly._

_Jake swallowed hard, feeling suddenly guilty. "So why didn't you?" he asked._

_She shrugged. "After you fell asleep, you turned human. I couldn't just… kill you."_

_He turned away from her, glaring hard at the blazing campfire. "Well, thanks for the gesture, but you should've killed me when you had the chance," he said in a low voice._

_To his surprise, she laughed, causing his gaze to snap back onto her with a bewildered expression. "Oh, I'm sure there will be plenty of chances," she said in a humored voice. He narrowed his eyes and she grinned, saying, "Don't worry, that's not a threat. I'm just not afraid of you." Without warning, she punched her right fist into her left palm and a brief flash of light later, standing in her place was a tall dragon with sparkling emerald scales lined with white spikes, wearing the same haughty expression. "Mexican Dragon, Ana Valdeza. Nice to meet you," she re-introduced herself, showing her pointed teeth._

_Jake stared at her, eyes wide in disbelief. Another dragon, here of all places? He supposed it made sense, but still the odds seemed so outrageous that he couldn't help but laugh. Ana was more than she seemed, alright. And maybe he really could trust her, after all._

"_Something funny?" she asked, raising an eyebrow and grinning good-naturedly. "You know, you still haven't told me your name."_

_He finally allowed himself to relax, shaking his head in wonder at the situation. "Jake Long," he answered simply, before following suit and shifting to his own crimson and gold dragon form. He smirked at her sharp intake of breath and finished, "Former American Dragon."_

_-0-0-0-_

"_I don't think this is such a good idea anymore."_

_Ana huffed in exasperation, a small puff of green smoke escaping through her sharp teeth. "Come on, Jake," she said. "This isn't gonna work if you don't at least try."_

_Jake shifted uncomfortably. "But what if—?"_

"_No 'what-if's," she interrupted, shoving him lightly. "Stop doubting yourself. You wanna control this thing, don't you?"_

_He rolled his eyes. "Duh."_

"_Then do it," she said firmly. "Like I know you can."_

"_Fine," he conceded at last. "But you'll stop me if it goes wrong, right?"_

"_It won't," she promised confidently._

_With a frustrated sigh, Jake took a few steps back from Ana and shook his arms, trying to relax his muscles. Steeling himself, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes, reaching for the corner of his consciousness in which he'd locked the power of Ebony's curse. He pushed back the intense feeling of dread and lowered his mental barriers, allowing the curse's rage to course through his mind and change his body into the increasingly familiar great, red beast, much like he'd done many months ago during his final battle against the half-gorgon girl. When he opened his eyes the world was tinted with a vibrant gold, allowing him to see clearly into the dim shadows between the trees. His head was already beginning to ache from the effort of keeping the power in check, but every time they went through this routine he noticed it got a little easier. Though that didn't mean he was any more okay with it._

"_Alright," Ana said from just in front of him, cracking her knuckles. "Let's see how you feel about this." With that she leapt forward, aiming a kick at Jake's legs. He focused his attention and jumped upward, dodging the attack. He swung his claws at her, trying to hold back on his increased strength, but she spread her wings and leapt into the air, swinging her tail at him in response. She continued to throw attack after attack at Jake, purposefully trying to anger him just as she always did. And instead, he set his mind to the task of jumping, dodging, blocking, and above all, containing the murderous fury that was ever-present inside him. This had become something of a routine between the two, and Jake had to admit it was working. He'd been able to contain the curse with less effort than before, though the thought of giving in to it still scared him just as much. Ana was tough, and an excellent fighter, but that didn't mean he didn't worry for her._

_When an emerald fireball collided with his back, Jake felt a sudden and uncontrollable anger smash through his mental barrier. He let out a feral roar and barely heard Ana gasp sharply as he spun around and lunged for her. She flew upward, but not fast enough as he grabbed her tail and swung her roughly against the ground. She shot him a grave glare and spread her claws to strike back, but hesitated when Jake bit down hard on his tongue, throwing the mind-block back into place and staggering backward. He swallowed hard and with all his might, shoved the power of the curse out of his focus, feeling his body shrink back to normal size._

_Jake shut his eyes and clutched both hands over his aching head, gritting his teeth and breathing heavily. He dropped onto his knees from exhaustion as Ana jumped to her feet and returned to human form, an ecstatic grin on her face._

"_¡Lo hiciste!" she shouted, running over as he dropped his hands and offered her a tired smile. "You did it! That's the first time I didn't get to knock you out!" She threw her arms around him, binding him in a tight hug. He laughed at her enthusiasm, feeling strangely giddy as he realized she was right. So far, it had definitely been getting steadily easier to keep from going too crazy when he used the curse. But still despite that, he was having a hard time consciously releasing himself from its hold. But this time, he'd managed to do it. And that might have been the best feeling he'd had in a long time._

"_Gee, don't sound too disappointed," he joked, pulling away from Ana and smirking at her._

_She snorted, driving a fist into his arm playfully. "Come on, you're the only challenging fight I ever get. Let me enjoy it a little, at least."_

_-0-0-0-_

"_No, it's easy. I'll teach you."_

_Jake raised an apprehensive eyebrow. "You?"_

_She shot him a pointed look as she led the way through the forest at a leisurely pace. "Unless you wanna go into the city and find someone else." He raised his arms in a gesture of surrender and she smirked in success. "Repeat after me: La Dragón Mexicana es fuerte, bonita, y mejor que yo en todas las cosas."_

_Jake sighed in defeat, grumbling under his breath. "Uh… La Dragón Mexicana es…"_

"_Fuerte," Ana repeated slowly._

"_Fuerte," Jake said, racking his brain to remember the rest of what she'd said, "bonita… y mejor que yo, en… Uh…"_

"_Todas las cosas."_

"_Todas las cosas." Ana laughed as she cut an obtrusive branch aside with her claws and Jake eyed her suspiciously. "What did I just say?"_

_She shrugged, grinning. "Only the truth."_

_-0-0-0-_

_Jake was tying together some supplies when Ana jumped him from behind, wrapping her arms around him and causing him to yell in surprise and drop what he was doing._

"_¡Feliz cumpleaños, hermanito!" she said in a sing-song voice, squeezing him tightly and rocking back and forth._

_He laughed and shook her off, turning to shoot her a quizzical look. "How'd you know it was my birthday?"_

"_You mentioned it a few months ago, dunce," she answered, smacking his forehead. "Remember? I yelled at you for letting me miss it last year and told you this March third I'd make it up to you."_

"_Oh, yeah," he admitted, recalling the conversation in late August of last year. "I was kind of hoping you'd forget, actually."_

"_Not a chance," Ana argued, shaking her head comically. "So, eighteen. You're an adult now. Feel any different?"_

_Jake frowned, looking up at the canopy of leaves above their heads. "Not really. Still a fugitive."_

_She laughed and shoved his shoulder, before slinging the pack off of her back. "I got you something." She pulled out something long and thin and wrapped in burlap cloth, handing it to Jake with a wide smile on her face. He raised a slightly skeptical eyebrow before removing the cloth to reveal a sturdy, wooden longbow painted a deep forest green._

"_Wow…" he muttered, running his hand over the smooth, curved surface of the bow. "Where'd you get this?"_

"_Special order," she answered, pulling a similarly-styled quiver of arrows from her pack and handing them over as well. "We can't have you shooting off that wildfire of yours anymore, or soon there won't be a forest left to hide in. You've got a good eye, a strong grip, and careful balance. You'll master this bow in no time."_

"_I don't know what to say," Jake said honestly, giving Ana a grateful smile. This was easily one of the best birthday gifts he'd ever received. "Thanks, Ana." He set the bow aside and wrapped his arms around her in a tight embrace. When they separated he added with a light smirk, "You realize this'll make me better than you at something, right?"_

_Ana chuckled, shrugging in admission. "I guess you can have _one_ thing," she teased, punching him loosely in the shoulder. "Just promise me you'll do some good with it, okay?"_

_Jake grinned. "Promise."_

_-0-0-0-_

_Something was wrong. Something was definitely, undeniably, horribly wrong._

_Something had frightened off every living thing within a half-mile radius near the eastern edge of the forest, and though Jake didn't know what it was, something in him told him he needed to find it – and fast. He had no idea where Ana was – she'd gone off into the city hours ago after receiving a message from Señor Maríllo, requesting her presence. He didn't know when she would be back, which meant he would have to seek out whatever was menacing the wood on his own. Not that he was particularly afraid, but he was definitely wary of the strange and unbidden feeling of foreboding that was growing inside him as he ran through the forest._

_Suddenly a strange sound somewhere between a roar and a hiss broke the otherwise silent air, originating from somewhere far in front of Jake. He altered his direction just barely so he was heading toward the sound as he reached over his shoulder and yanked an arrow out of the quiver slung over his back, knocking it against the bow in his other hand._

"_Eye of the Dragon," he whispered, focusing his attention through the trees and peering easily into the distance. Many yards ahead of him, he finally saw what must have made the sound. A huge creature with the body of a lion and the tail of a scorpion was rearing on its hind legs in the middle of a clearing of fallen trees. Its humanoid head was contorted in an angry snarl, its mouth open to boast its rows of sharp-looking fangs as another hissing roar sounded. "Whoa…" he muttered, eyes widening as he raised his arms and prepared to loose the arrow. His breath caught suddenly and he almost tripped over his feet, however, when he saw what – or who – the creature was standing over. Lying on the ground in front of it, seemingly awake but not moving, was Ana._

_Jake let out an angry snarl and glared at the creature, releasing the arrow and sending it flying through the trees. It sunk firmly in the front of the creature's neck, causing it to howl once more and fall onto its side, limbs and tail thrashing. In under a minute, Jake finally burst through the clearing, not slowing his pace until he skidded to a halt between Ana and the creature. It lifted its head barely a few inches off the ground as Jake knocked two arrows at once, standing over it and aiming straight down. It let out a low, groaning roar and he loosed the arrows, both of which lodged themselves in the creature's skull and halted its movement abruptly._

_Frantically, Jake spun around and dropped to his knees, setting the bow down on the dirt. "Ana?" he said, surveying the area and noticing the still bodies of five other creatures identical to the one he'd just killed. Evidently, she must have fought them all off, judging by the marks in the clearing and the state of her body. There were bruises and scratch marks littering her limbs and torso, and her clothes were torn in many places. There was a thin line of blood dripping down her face from a cut somewhere above her hairline, blending in with her black hair._

"_Jake, you made it," she said, her voice breathy and tired. "Guess I should have called you after all."_

"_I'm gonna go get help," he said urgently. He started to rise, but was halted by her hand on the edge of his jacket._

"_You don't need to," she argued, shaking her head. "You won't make it in time. Their poison's one of the most deadly known to the magical world. …I don't think I have much time."_

_His eyes widened sharply as he fell back to his knees, arms going limp at his sides. What was she saying? "What are they?" he asked, turning to glance sideways at the nearest creature._

"_Manticores," Ana answered with a breathy cough. "Señor Maríllo told me about a pack that's been taking people from the city. He wanted me to… try and hunt them down. I didn't know they'd be so… stubborn."_

_Jake could feel his chest tighten painfully and his stomach twist in knots as he looked at Ana. "There has to be something we can do," he said, his voice sounding almost as desperate as he felt._

"_Listen, Jake," she said, her eyes growing serious. "I don't have any family. There's… no one to succeed me as the Mexican Dragon. …Only you."_

"_Me?" he repeated, not entirely believing or accepting her words._

"_Somebody has to protect this place," she went on. "And it has to be you."_

"_But… They don't even know I exist."_

"_They don't have to."_

_His eyes widened as he understood her meaning. "No way," he said firmly. But she wasn't listening. She lowered her gaze and shifted her arm to her side, pulling something small and round from her jacket pocket._

"_Take this," she breathed, handing it to him, and he recognized instantly what it was._

"_Your compass…" he said, turning it over in his palm as the needle came to rest pointing toward him, just like it always did. "But why? You know it doesn't work for me—"_

"_It will," she cut him off, placing her hand on his leg and giving his knee a weak squeeze, "when you conquer your fear. You and me… We're a lot alike, Jake. You could be stronger than I ever was."_

_He let out a short, half-hearted laugh. "You _must _be out of it to be talking like that."_

_She smiled almost sadly as she replied, "Se necesita valor que hablar la verdad."_

"_Ana…" Jake said, swallowing hard and feeling a sharp pang in his heart as he fought the urge to turn and run for help._

"_Gracias, hermanito," Ana said quietly, her eyes closing and the soft smile fading from her face._

"_W-Wait," he stuttered, muscles tensing._

_Ana's voice was barely a whisper when she finished, "Para todo."_

"_Ana," Jake repeated as her body grew still. He grabbed her shoulders roughly, tears in his eyes. "ANA!"_

-0-0-0-0-0-

With a jolt, Jake sat bolt upright in bed, his skin covered in a thin layer of cold sweat and heavy breaths wracking his lungs. His eyes surveyed the small, shadowy train cabin as the vivid images from his dream faded from his mind and he remembered where he was and where he was going. The mattress moved beneath him and his gaze turned sharply to his right to see Rose shift in her sleep, but when she didn't wake Jake allowed his body to relax, running both hands through his hair and trying to slow his rapid breathing.

As quietly as he could, he got carefully out of bed and crept across the cabin and into the bathroom, closing the door tightly before turning on the light. He yanked the vaguely damp shirt off over his head and turned the knob on the sink, then filled his hands with cold water before splashing it on his face in an effort to clear the last remnants of the visions behind his eyes.

It was a dream. It was only a dream. Sure, all of it had been real at one point, but now all those things were in the past. …Ana was in the past. Losing her hadn't been easy, but Jake had dealt with it by taking her last request to heart and doing what he could to protect her city (Upon his and Rose's departure, they'd sent a message to Señor Maríllo explaining everything; Jake was confident that if anyone could find a suitable permanent replacement for Ana, he could). He owed her at least that much. After all, he wouldn't have lasted another week in that forest if he hadn't met her when he did.

After drying his face on the hand towel hanging by the sink, Jake leaned forward onto the porcelain counter and looked at his reflection in the mirror, thinking with an odd sense of nostalgia how long it had been since he'd last seen an actual mirror. His eyes lazily surveyed the vibrant red streaks in his hair (which always grew back no matter how many times he cut them off), the tired expression on his face, and the array of scars and bruises on his chest and arms. His reflection seemed so different and yet at the same time exactly the same as it had always been. It was strange to think that after so long he was finally going back home, back to a family who thought he'd been dead for almost three years. Maybe Rose had been right – maybe he was being stupid and paranoid for refusing to come back. But after a while, life in the Sierra Madre Mountains with Ana just became normal. Part of him missed his family and friends, that much was undeniable, but part of him just assumed they were better off without him.

But with Haley in danger, that changed everything. Sure, he was sure to be in for a lot of trouble when he got back, but his sister was worth anything. He couldn't abandon her any longer.

Suddenly there was a knock on the bathroom door, followed by a muffled voice. "Jake? You in there?"

Jake walked to the door and pulled it open to reveal Rose standing in the doorway, arms wrapped around her body as if shielding herself from cold. She squinted her eyes and turned away as the light from the bathroom washed over her. "Sorry," he said, "I didn't mean to wake you."

"It's alright," she insisted, shaking her head and blinking a few times in rapid succession before fixing him with a concerned frown. "You okay?"

"Yeah," he answered honestly, shrugging his shoulders. "Just had a weird dream." She looked like she wanted to say more, but instead her eyes seemed to travel absently down across his torso, eyebrows creasing more deeply as she observed the numerous scars and marks across his skin. He felt an odd fluttering sensation in his chest from her gaze (which brought on unwanted flashbacks from the time they'd spent together before he'd left the country), but instead of dwelling on it he raised an eyebrow and put on an amused smirk, saying, "You're staring."

She flinched in surprise and a tiny flush appeared on her face and around her ears, but it was gone a second later when she said, "I'm sorry, I was just… Where'd all those come from?"

"I was living in a monster-infested forest for two and half years," he answered with a wry smile, rubbing a hand on the back of his neck. "It wasn't exactly a peaceful walk in the park."

Rose returned the smile. "Bet they make for some interesting stories, though."

"Probably not ones you'd wanna hear," Jake replied evasively.

She crossed her arms and leaned casually against the doorframe. "Try me," she said, eyes gleaming mirthfully. She pointed to a jagged, white line that rung around his left shoulder. "How 'bout that one? That looks nasty."

He sighed in defeat and leaned back against the counter, remembering all too well that particular story. _Of course she'd pick that one…_ he thought wryly. _Well, she's blocking the door, so I guess I don't have a choice._ "Remember the wolf creature that attacked you in the forest yesterday?" he began. She nodded, and he explained, "It's called a warg. This scar's from the first one I met, maybe a week after I first got there. There's a lot of them in the mountains, apparently they like the high altitude. They're expert trackers, too. They creep up on you, like a cat. You never see 'em coming 'til they jump you and pin you to the ground. Then once they've got you, they always go for the throat." Rose's eyes turned misty for a second, and Jake wondered if she was remembering her brief fight with the warg the previous day. "One caught up with me one night and caught me way off guard. Once it had me down, I was able to dodge it just barely, and it bit my shoulder instead of my neck." He paused briefly, remembering with a jolt what had happened afterward. "I was… still level one at controlling the curse at that point, so the pain kind of broke my concentration. I sort of… tore the thing to shreds." He let out a small, awkward laugh as Rose's eyes widened and sympathy showed on her face.

"I'm sorry," she said again, shaking her head. "I didn't mean to bring up any bad memories. I just wanted to—"

"No, it's okay," Jake insisted with a smile. The last thing he wanted was for her to feel bad because of him. "It could've been a lot worse. It would have killed me if I hadn't done anything. Anyway, after that I had a hard time getting control again, and I sort of destroyed a lot of the forest over the next few days. Ana was sent to stop whatever was doing it, but by the time she got to me I was barely alive as it was, thanks to the shoulder wound. She didn't want to kill me, so she saved me instead. And… she'd been helping me ever since." As the visions from his dream came rushing back, Jake was struck with a sudden overwhelming sense of loss and regret. "I owed her my life… and I couldn't save her."

Rose was silent for a moment, her expression difficult to read. Jake opened his mouth to apologize for getting so down when she stepped abruptly away from the doorway and came to lean against the counter beside him. She linked her arm in his and leaned her head against his shoulder in a comforting gesture, without saying a word. His muscles tensed reflexively at her touch, but relaxed after mere seconds as he took a deep breath and cleared his mind for what felt like the millionth time that night.

For a while they just stood like that in comfortable silence, and Jake was a bit surprised at how _right_ it felt to have Rose beside him again. The second she'd lowered her hood in the forest earlier that night and he'd recognized her, the first thing he'd felt was shock, followed closely by fear. He'd convinced himself that he was never going to see his family or friends from back home again and had barely begun to accept that and move on, when all of a sudden she'd appeared and effectively demolished the resolve he'd thought had been so strong. That's why he'd run – it was the only way he could fight the urge to wrap her in his arms and tell her how much he'd missed her and thought about her ever since he'd left. He was angry – not at her exactly, but at whatever god had decided it had been a good time for a surprise reunion. But he supposed it didn't matter anymore – she'd convinced him to come back, and that was that.

After a few long minutes of quiet, Rose said in a light voice, "So, do all of these scars come with long, heavy stories? Or did you at least have a _little_ fun out there during all that time?"

Jake chuckled, thinking back. He stretched out his right hand in front of them and indicated a thick, dotted line that mirrored on both sides of his wrist. "This one, I tripped over a log and landed on a bear trap."

Rose laughed lightly in response, standing up straight and stretching her arms. "I guess that qualifies," she said with a smile. "Come on, let's get back to bed. Like you said, we're gonna need the rest."

Jake grinned, grabbing his shirt from the counter and following her to the door. "Yeah," he agreed, before switching off the light and enveloping them in darkness once again.

* * *

Translations! *ahem*

_"Aquiete."_ – "Calm down."  
_"So hombro está herido. Necesita cuidarse."_ – "Your shoulder's hurt. You need to take it easy."  
"_¡Lo hiciste!"_ – "You did it!"  
_"La Dragón Mexicana es fuerte, bonita, y mejor que yo en todas las cosas."_ – "The Mexican Dragon is strong, beautiful, and better than me at everything."  
"_¡Feliz cumpleaños, hermanito!"_ – "Happy Birthday, little brother!" (_hermanito_ literally means "little brother," but it can also be used as a sort of term of endearment for a close friend, like here)  
_"Se necesita valor que hablar la verdad."_ – "It takes courage to speak the truth."  
_"Gracias, hermanito. Para todo."_ – "Thank you, little brother. For everything."

Okay, I believe that's it for the Spanish in this story, seeing as the rest takes place in New York/Chicago. We're about halfway through now! Hooray!

Fun fact, originally this chapter and the next were actually one big chapter. I decided to split them up for two reasons - one, it would easily be far longer than the rest, and two, this way I got an even number of total chapters (which I can be OCD about... haha). I'll probably post the next chapter later this week, maybe Friday, since I made you guys wait so long for this one.

Reviews are love! Thanks for reading!

Later, taters!

-oMM


	6. Wing

See? Told you I'd be back this week. This one's kind of short and not very exciting, but after this is when things get serious.

Enjoy!

* * *

"As soon as we get back to your grandfather's shop, we'll need to come up with a plan," Rose said seriously as she and Jake packed their belongings later that morning, their destination only minutes away. "I want to rescue Haley just as much as you do, but we can't just go barging in. I'm sure the Dark Dragon has something planned, given his reputation. We need to be prepared." She glanced across the room to find Jake had finished packing up and was now standing near the bed, fidgeting somewhat awkwardly and looking strangely worried. She fixed him with an incredulous stare and asked, "What, are you actually _nervous_?"

He looked up at her with a strained expression. "It's… been a long time," he said haltingly. "What if everyone hates me when they find out the truth?"

Rose sighed, giving him a small smile. "That's not going to happen," she promised confidently. "They've missed you just as much as I have."

He smiled ruefully. "Yeah, but the first thing you did was attack me," he pointed out.

She laughed, saying, "Good point. Better be prepared for a few more scars, just in case." She paused, then added as an afterthought, "Especially from Trixie." He laughed, though she could tell he was still nervous. "Look, more than anything, everyone's really just going to be glad to have you back, okay? Trust me, I know from experience." She put on an encouraging smile and was glad to see him visibly relax a bit.

"Yeah," he conceded, "I guess… it'll be good to see them, too."

"I hope you've had your fill of Jake-time, though," Rose added with a pointed look, "because there's no way your family's ever gonna leave you alone again after this."

He laughed again, his smile finally appearing genuine. "You're probably right," he admitted. "I'm sure I'll be grounded for the next decade."

As he turned to gather his things, Rose thought about what she'd just said, and realized that this could very well be the last time in a long time that they were alone together, especially considering the danger of the battle they were sure to soon be caught in. Fighting a brief moment of indecision, she straightened up and said, "Jake?" He spun around and glanced at her inquisitively, waiting for her to speak, before she marched straight up to him and placed her hands firmly on his shoulders. She barely caught the surprised uncertainty in his eyes as she leaned upward and pressed her lips against his.

It was brief and simple, but awoke a field of butterflies in Rose's stomach all the same. After a few short seconds she reluctantly backed up to see a blank, almost winded expression on his face. Anyone walking in might have assumed she'd just slapped him, rather than kiss him, and it brought a light laugh from her throat before she could think to stifle it.

"Uh…" he said absently, blinking a few times and seemingly regaining his focus. "What was that for?"

She shrugged, meeting his gaze and smiling. "In case I don't get another chance," she explained. Taking a deep breath, she went on, "I just want you to know that I still—"

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have arrived on schedule at Canal Street Station, New York City, New York," a sudden voice sounded over a speaker somewhere above them. "Please return all cabin keys to the clerk before exiting the train. Thank you for choosing the Underground Express for your magical travel needs, and have a pleasant day."

Rose sighed, stepping away from Jake as they both gathered their minimal luggage into their arms. "Ready?" she asked him, her hand on the cabin door.

He took a deep breath and grinned. "As I'll ever be," he answered, before following her into the hall and out of the train.

It was a short walk to Lao Shi's electronics shop from there, during which Rose noticed Jake looking around at the city with an odd, misty sort of expression. She supposed that after living in the mountains for almost three years, suddenly reentering civilization must have been a bit strange for him. A small smile crossed his face as he stared at something in the distance, and Rose couldn't help but smile herself, thankful that she was finally able to bring him back home to the city he'd grown up in.

"You should wait here a minute," Rose told Jake when they reached their destination, noticing that the anxious expression had returned to his face as he eyed the door nervously. "We don't want to shock them too badly."

"I think that's unavoidable," he pointed out, but he leaned against the outside wall obediently all the same and stayed still as Rose pulled open the door and entered the store.

Inside, the faces of Fu Dog, Spud, and Trixie all looked up at the sudden disturbance. "I see you made good time," Fu Dog observed, hopping down from the stool behind the counter. "What'd I tell you? Underground express is the only way to travel. So, uh… Where's the Mexican Dragon? You find her?"

"About that…" Rose began somewhat awkwardly. "Ana… won't be coming."

"Why not?" Fu Dog went on. "I would'a thought that girl—"

"Because she's dead," Rose finished with a short sigh. Instantly all three pairs of eyes widened in sad surprise.

"But… she was our only hope," Trixie pointed out, a tiny hint of desperation in her voice. "All the rest of the magical world's too chicken to stand up to the Dark Dragon. What are we gonna do now?"

"We could disguise ourselves as hockey players and move to Canada," Spud suggested uselessly. He turned to Trixie and waved his hands at her. "Here, knock out a few of my teeth. That'll make it convincing."

"Keep comin' up with ideas like that and maybe I will, boyfriend," Trixie replied dryly. "What about Haley, huh?"

"Oh, right," Spud said, looking thoughtful. "Well, if we run play number six with you at center and send the old man down the side, we can steal her right out from under the DD's fire-breathin' nose. It'll be just like that time we played the Devils in the third playoff game of the—"

"We ain't hockey players!" Trixie interrupted Spud, stomping her foot on the ground. She massaged her forehead with her fingers and said, "I _swear_, boy _sometimes_…"

"No, guys, it's okay!" Rose cut in before Spud could reply. "I didn't find Ana, but I did find someone else who should be able to help." She shot a glance over her shoulder through the window as she spoke.

"You did?" Fu Dog asked, sounding somewhere between hopeful and surprised. "Tell me you didn't snag the Guatemalan Dragon, 'cause that kid—" He broke off abruptly as the shop door opened and Jake stepped in, eliciting a silence so thick and complete that Rose swore she could have heard a pin drop. She watched in anticipation as he slowly raised his head to look at the three of them, knowing exactly how they must have felt (considering she'd experienced the same thing less than a day ago).

After the longest few seconds Rose had ever sat through, Jake swallowed hard and said, "I—" But he was cut off instantly by Trixie's shrill scream as her face broke into a grin a mile wide. She jumped down from the table she'd been sitting on and tackled Jake, grabbing him around the neck and kissing him full on the mouth in her excitement, before wrapping him in a bone-crushing hug. Rose laughed as the tension vanished from the room all at once and similar smiles appeared on the faces of Spud and Fu Dog.

"Dude!" Spud yelled as he stood beside Jake and Trixie. "We thought you were dead! You're not dead, are you? Wait—Are you a ghost? Can I walk through you?" He stepped forward swiftly and, predictably, walked right into Jake, who stared at him with a bewildered expression as Rose fought back another laugh. "Ow," Spud said after his failed attempt to walk through his friend. "Does that mean I'm a ghost, too? Ghosts can't walk through each other, I guess. But wait, when did I—?"

"Pipe down, Spudinski!" Trixie interrupted him again, shoving him to the side. "You ain't a ghost! And neither is he!"

"Yeah, sorry," Jake said, rubbing the back of his head somewhat sheepishly. "Live dragon, here." Suddenly, Trixie's smile turned abruptly into a glare and she clenched her right hand into a fist, slugging Jake hard across the jaw and knocking him against the display case beside them. "Ow!" he complained, placing a hand over the spot and staring at her incredulously. Rose cringed, knowing he couldn't have been exaggerating – in the years since he'd disappeared, Trixie had achieved a black belt in three forms of martial arts. She could really pack a punch.

"And _why the hell aren't_ you a ghost?" Trixie demanded, placing her hands on her hips and glaring angrily at Jake, who, though taller than her, seemed to shrink under her stare.

"Look, it's a long story, but—" Jake broke off again when Trixie lifted her leg and kicked him forcefully in the shin, causing him to yelp in pain and stumble to the side. "Ouch! Will you just let me explain?"

Rose was about to cut in and help when a voice sounded from the back room, shouting, "What is _all that racket? _I am trying to concentrate!" Everyone fell silent as Lao Shi emerged from the back of the store, surveying the area until his eyes fell on his grandson, who was standing stock-still and looking frightened. The old man's expression hardened, his tiny eyes narrowed and sharp. Rose watched in a slightly nervous silence as Jake walked slowly up to his grandfather, watching him with wide, careful eyes, before dropping to his knees in front of him and bowing his head low.

"I'm sorry, Grandpa," he said, speaking toward the floor. "I know what you're gonna say, and you're right. You taught me to be strong, and to protect people, and I failed. I ran away. I know it was stupid, and I don't expect you to forgive me, but I—" Without warning, Lao Shi reached out and snatched Jake by the shoulders, pulling him roughly into a tight embrace. Rose couldn't help but smile, thinking back on the conversation she and Jake had had in their cabin before arriving in the city.

"You did what you thought was right," Lao Shi said, seeming to have guessed his grandson's motives without needing an explanation. "I am glad to have you back."

Rose looked across the room to see Spud poke Trixie with his elbow, raising his eyebrows with a knowing smile. Trixie glared at him, but her expression quickly softened into a smile. _I knew everything would be okay,_ Rose thought to herself.

-0-0-0-0-0-

"Message for Lao Shi."

Everyone looked up as a delivery fairy glided into the room, coming to a halt beside the old man. He signed the clipboard and accepted a small, black envelope, before the fairy bid goodbye and disappeared.

Fu Dog eyed the envelope anxiously. "You don't think it's from him, do you?"

"You mean the Dark Dragon?" Jake repeated seriously with a frown. He'd just finished recounting a brief synopsis of his life since they'd last met (Fu Dog seemed unsurprised and mildly impressed that he and Ana had become so close; according to the dog, Ana had always reminded him somewhat of Jake), and the others were now filling him and Rose in on what had transpired since her departure three days prior.

"Only one way to find out," Rose pointed out, nodding toward the letter. Lao She tore it open and a thick cloud of black smoke floated into the air, the visage of the Dark Dragon appearing in the center of it.

"I'm growing impatient, Lao Shi," the Dark Dragon's deep, menacing voice echoed through the small room. "I know you are in contact with the Red Hunter, so I am giving you an ultimatum. She will come to me by midnight tonight, or I will kill your granddaughter and come find her myself." Jake felt a frightened jolt at the threat, and given the Dark Dragon's past and reputation he knew it likely wasn't a bluff. Haley was in serious danger, and he did _not_ come all the way back home to let the Dark Dragon win. "Time is ticking, old friend. You and your council can't hide from me forever." With that, the image vanished and the smoke thinned to nothing.

"That's just great," Fu Dog grumbled. "Twist our arms, why don't ya."

"It appears we have no choice," Lao Shi admitted with a beleaguered sigh. "We must assemble a team and devise a strategy. Jake," he turned to his grandson, "have you been home yet?"

"No," Jake answered, knowing he would have to face his parents sooner or later but choosing to put if off for as long as possible.

"You gotta check in with the 'rents, kid," Fu Dog said. "They've already got one kid to worry about, better let 'em know the other's safe and sound. We'll come up with a plan and fill you in when you get back. But, uh… As insensitive as this sounds, be quick about it. The coordinates the Dark Dragon gave us are somewhere in downtown Chicago, which is a bit of a trip. And I don't think I need to tell ya we gotta get to Haley before it's too late."

"Right," Jake agreed, getting to his feet and slinging his bag across his back. "See you guys in an hour."

He was almost to the door when Spud called out, "Jake! Here, take this." He picked up his skateboard from its spot on the floor near the counter and rolled it across the floor, where Jake stopped it with his foot and grinned.

"Half an hour," he corrected himself, before waving goodbye and leaving the shop.

Jake hadn't ridden a skateboard since leaving New York, but he was surprised by how easy it still was after all that time. He supposed it must have been like riding a bike, something you just sort of never forget. He probably could have flown home in his dragon form, but he'd relied on his wings for travel so often in the past few years that it was good to go back to the way things used to be. The main streets were as crowded as ever, but he'd lived in the city for sixteen years, which meant that he knew all the back ways and shortcuts. All in all, he was at his old house in ten minutes.

He lingered on the stoop for what felt like a lifetime, part of him afraid to go inside. Stepping foot inside that house would mean there was no turning back. Not that he wanted to turn back, really, not now. After seeing his friends and grandfather and realizing how much he'd missed them, he knew he'd feel the same about his family, once the initial anxiety had passed. Shaking himself off, he took a deep, steadying breath, and opened the door.

The inside of the house looked exactly the same as it always had, and Jake couldn't help but smile at the strong pang of nostalgia. The last time he'd stood in that doorway had been the day of the battle against Ebony – the day he'd bid goodbye to his parents and sister, telling them he'd be careful and acting confident about the coming fight. They'd wished him luck just like they always did – his dad included, for the first time. It felt like only a day or two ago, and Jake suddenly had a hard time believing it had been almost three years.

"Mom? Dad?" he called, not seeing them anywhere in the immediate vicinity. "You guys home?" He was just starting to wonder if perhaps they were out when he heard the sudden sound of glass shattering, as if something had been dropped. It was followed by distant, hurried footsteps and in seconds, the kitchen door swung open to reveal his mother, who froze stock-still in the doorway.

"Jake…" she whispered in obvious disbelief just as his father dashed around the upstairs corner and skidded to a similar halt at the top of the stairs.

Jake fixed them with a guilty smile and said, "Guess I'm… a couple years late to dinner, huh?" He laughed nervously and watched them with anxious eyes, and for a long moment they both looked as though time had stopped for them.

Then just as suddenly, tears appeared in Susan's eyes and she rushed forward, throwing her arms around Jake and holding so tightly he had trouble breathing. He let out a giddy laugh and fought his arms free, returning the embrace as Jonathan bounded down the stairs and wrapped his arms around both his wife and son.

"I don't believe it," Susan breathed as she backed away and placed both hands on Jake's shoulders, looking him over with such clear, unbridled joy on her face.

"I'm sorry for lying to you," Jake said immediately, looking at them both in turn. "I was just worried about—"

"It doesn't matter right now," Jonathan interrupted, placing a hand on Jake's head and ruffling his hair. "The important thing is that you're back, and we're together again."

Susan sighed, suddenly looking distraught. "I just wish we knew Haley was safe…"

"She will be," Jake promised. "We're going after her tonight. Grandpa and Fu are coming up with a plan as we speak."

"You're going with them?" Susan asked, looking as though she already knew the answer.

"I have to," Jake replied with conviction. "She's my sister. But I'll come back this time, I promise. We both will." He gave them an encouraging grin, meaning every word. Just like with his friends and grandfather, he hadn't realized just how much he must have missed his parents while separated from them. The feeling of being back was strangely euphoric.

"Good," Susan said with a small smile. "Because when you do, you're grounded for the rest of your life."

Jake's shoulders fell and he smiled ruefully. "I kind of figured as much."

* * *

Okay! Next one should be up sometime next week. Gee, we haven't seen Haley in a while, have we? Don't worry, though, she'll show up again in the next chapter.

See you soon!

-oMM


	7. Bone

Hey gang! Thanks as always to everybody who read/reviewed the last chapter. Makes me super happy to know people are enjoying this. We're nearing the end now, only three more chapters after this one. This one's good and exciting, though. Hope you like it!

Enjoy! We're finally back with Haley after a few long chapters without her, haha. Whoops.

* * *

Haley's eyes were hard as she watched Donovan pace back and forth in the underground chamber, his shadow dancing in the light of the flickering torch that hung from the back wall. He must not have thought anyone would dare defy his wishes like they apparently had, and did not seem the least bit pleased at the way things had transpired. Evidently, he had wanted to be rid of the Red Hunter more quickly, but as expected she was more difficult to pin down than he had previously believed.

But Haley knew she would come. Donovan's last message had assured that outcome. They all knew that he would make good on his threat if she didn't, and that was something no one wanted to allow to happen. Haley herself had mixed feelings about it – after all, her death had already been predicted by Sara, but none of the others knew about that yet. And further, the circumstances of the vision were still a mystery. Though the more time she spent with Donovan, the more she wanted to see him stopped – no matter the cost.

"I may have overestimated this hunter," he finally said aloud, glaring at the ground as he continued to pace. "Maybe she's less caring than the stories made her out to be."

"I tried to tell you it wouldn't work," Haley pointed out, trying to rile him. "Besides, you could never defeat her, anyway. You've heard the stories, right? Everyone's afraid of the Red Hunter. And you would be, too, if you know what's good for you."

"Silence!" Donovan snapped, turning to glare at Haley with black fire in his eyes. "Maybe I'll just kill you now and be done with it."

"Oh!" Sara squealed suddenly. "It's gonna get really loud in here in a bit! Maybe we're throwing a party!"

Donovan's expression relaxed as his gaze flitted toward the twins. "So she's coming, after all. Good." Haley shot Sara a glare, but the oracle didn't seem to notice and instead continued to watch a beetle crawl across the wall, humming absently to herself.

"Oh, look at that," Kara piped up dully from Sara's other side. "Haley's in for a big surprise. Woo-hoo."

Sara suddenly gasped, her face lighting up. "So it _is_ a party! Whee!"

Ignoring her, Haley asked in a puzzled voice, "A _good_ surprise?" It was Kara who'd predicted it, after all.

Kara sighed heavily. "It's the happiest you've ever been."

That stunned Haley to a degree. What could possibly happen that night that could make her that happy? Things were looking more than a little bleak at the moment, without much prospect of turning around. Even if Rose and maybe her grandfather showed up and saved her and defeated the Dark Dragon, she wasn't sure that would qualify as the 'happiest she'd ever been'.

Just then, a shrill ringing sound pierced the otherwise silent air in the chamber. Donovan reached into the pocket of his trench coat and produced a cell phone, answering the call and placing the phone against his ear. "Gregory," he said. "Is she here?" Haley couldn't hear the answer, but Donovan's evil grin was informative enough. _Guess it's show time,_ she thought to herself. "Excellent. Kindly show her in, will you?" With that, he ended the call and replaced the phone into his pocket before rubbing his hands together in obvious anticipation. He turned once again to Haley, saying, "Do your part and behave, and you'll walk out of here unscathed. I'm a dragon of my word, after all." Haley turned away from him with a scowl.

It wasn't long before Gregory appeared at the mouth of the chamber, Rose following closely behind (garbed and hooded as the Red Hunter, a long, crimson staff in her hand). She turned toward Haley and the young dragon could easily imagine the look of concern and relief on her friend's shadowed face. "You okay?" she asked, her voice even and controlled.

"Fine," Haley replied stiffly. "Why'd you come?" She couldn't say she was surprised, but still she'd been hoping Rose would be smart enough not to turn herself in like this.

"I would've thought that was obvious," Rose answered in the same emotionless voice, obviously attempting to appear passive to the situation so as to have a better chance at possibly negotiating with the Dark Dragon. "I'm a protector of the magical world, aren't I? There's a dragon in danger, so here I am." She seemed to notice the Oracle twins and added, "So you two are here, too? Looks like three for the price of one."

"So I was not wrong about you, after all," Donovan said, clasping his hands behind his back and gazing at Rose with a strange hunger in his eyes.

"Who are you?" Rose demanded. "I was under the impression I'd be meeting with the Dark Dragon, not a pair of errand boys." She nodded her head toward Gregory, who leaned against the earthen wall and folded his arms, appearing to take no offence at the jibe. Donovan smirked in amusement and spread his arms, stepping slowly backward. Black flames engulfed his body, changing him into the towering form of the Dark Dragon. "So it's you," Rose observed, and Haley was mildly impressed at her continued lack of emotion.

"It's good to finally meet you," the Dark Dragon said, rumbling voice echoing off the chamber walls, "from one legend to another." He grinned, showing his shiny, pointed teeth.

"So I'm here, just like you wanted," Rose replied. "How 'bout letting the girls go?"

"Not until after I've finished you off," the Dark Dragon answered, shaking his head.

Rose sighed, her grip tightening on her staff. "You see, that's not exactly in my best interests," she said. "I'd hoped to do this the easy way, but if you prefer the hard way…" She twirled the staff and bent her knees, dropping into a guarded stance.

The Dark Dragon laughed, his voice booming. "You plan to fight me alone?" he scoffed, stretching his claws. _Kara's prophecy_, Haley reminded herself, worry and fear for her friend suddenly rising. _She'll be fine. She has to be_.

To Haley's surprise, Rose answered, "Who said I was alone? I was just the advance party." She righted her staff and struck the end against the ground, eliciting an odd ringing sound that reminded Haley of a gong. Rose pulled down her hood and stood straight, one hand on her hip and a satisfied smirk on her face. Everyone was silent as for a long moment, nothing happened. _What's she doing?_ Haley wondered, starting to grow frantic. _If she thinks she can trick him…_

"In here!" a voice suddenly called from down the passage to Haley's left. _Was that… Spud?_ she thought incredulously, recognizing the voice. _What's he doing here? Who all did Rose bring?_ Despite the uncertainty, a feeling of relief was starting to swell inside Haley. If Spud was here, that meant her grandfather and Trixie were probably there as well. And if she were free, maybe they could all take on the Dark Dragon together.

Seconds after Spud's voice sounded, a large, crimson blur sped into the chamber, rustling Rose's hood and hair as it passed her. "_What?_" snarled the Dark Dragon as the blur slammed into him with full force, throwing him against the back wall with a resounding _boom_. Then a familiar voice laughed haughtily and Haley could have sworn her heart stopped as the red dragon landed on his feet on the dirt.

_It can't be…_ Haley thought, wide eyes fixed on the form of the dragon she knew very well but hadn't ever expected to see again. _I'm imagining things. He's dead. This is just someone who looks like him. That's all._

"What-up, Tall-Dark-and-Ugly?" the dragon taunted with a smirk as the Dark Dragon rose to his feet, scowling angrily. "Long time, no beat-down!"

_Oh, my God…_ Haley was dangerously close to hyperventilating now. "J-Jake?" she stuttered, nearly choking on her words. "I-Is that you?"

He punched a fist into his hand as orange flames sprang up around him, fading seconds later to reveal the living, human form of her only brother (though clearly older than the last time she'd seen him). He turned his head and shot her a confident grin. "Hang tight, Haley," he told her. "We'll have you out of here in no time."

Haley could feel a wide, ecstatic grin spread across her face. All this time, her brother was alive! She realized instantly that this must have been the 'surprise' Kara had predicted for her, and understood at once what the twin had meant by her words. In her excitement, she hadn't noticed Lao Shi, Fu Dog, Trixie, and Spud had all entered the chamber as well and had gathered beside Rose, who glanced over at Haley and smiled reassuringly.

"You," the Dark Dragon was saying, his eyes dark and piercing as he glared at Jake. "You're supposed to be dead."

"Back at'cha," Jake replied at once, unfazed. "Didn't the Dragon Council take away your powers after the last time I kicked your tail? What gives?"

The Dark Dragon scoffed coldly, clearly not amused by this turn of events. "I found a sympathizer," he explained simply, holding a hand toward Gregory. Haley hadn't noticed, but Gregory appeared to now be bracing himself against the wall rather than leaning on it lazily like he had been, and was staring at Jake with wide, venomous eyes. The Dark Dragon smirked and added, "In fact, this should be interesting. He may hate you even more than I do."

"What?" Jake asked, clearly confused. "Why? I don't even know this guy."

"Oh—Jake!" Haley called, remembering with a jolt her conversation with Gregory the other day. "That's Gregory Gray—Ebony's father!"

"_What?_" Jake repeated, looking horror-stricken as some of the others gasped audibly or proclaimed their surprise.

"You…" Gregory said, his voice low and dangerous as he stepped slowly toward Jake, who took a step back reflexively. "_You killed my daughter._"

Jake held up his arms defensively. "Look, I'm sorry, okay?" he replied carefully. "But do you know how many people she killed? She tried to kill me. And she would have if I hadn't fought back."

"It doesn't matter how you justify it," Gregory argued. "What matters is that she was the only one I had left, and you didn't even give her a chance."

"But he _did_ give her a chance!" Rose interrupted, sounding frustrated and coming to stand beside Jake. "He didn't want to kill her, but she didn't leave him a choice. What happened was her own fault, and no one—"

"Enough!" the Dark Dragon roared over the argument. "It's in the past. What matters is now." He turned to glare at Jake, who returned the expression. "You've saved me the trouble of hunting you down. Now I can eliminate you and the Red Hunter together." He drew back his head and shot a jet of black flame toward them. Gregory stepped calmly out of the way as Rose flipped to the side and Jake changed to his dragon form and leapt safely into the air.

As Jake shot toward the Dark Dragon and Rose braced her staff to strike, Spud suddenly appeared at Haley's side. "Let's get you out of this," he said, pulling out a short, glowing knife with which he quickly sliced through the chains binding Haley to the chamber wall. Once free, she felt instantly invigorated and shifted immediately to her dragon form.

"Thanks," she said to Spud, shooting him a toothy grin. "Get the twins – I'm gonna help Jake and Rose." As he saluted her and jogged toward the Oracle sisters, a brief flash of the girls' visions regarding the battle crossed Haley's mind, but she shook it away and set her sights on the fight that had broken out around her. Trixie and Fu Dog had moved to detain Gregory, who was making no effort to escape them, while Jake, Lao Shi, and Rose were squaring off against the Dark Dragon. Rose had just landed a blast to the Dark Dragon's back, which was followed up by a kick from Jake into a barrage of fireballs from Lao Shi. Haley leapt into the air and shot forward, coming to hover beside her brother, her wings beating rhythmically and a wide grin in place on her face. "You better save some of this guy for me," she said, getting his attention. "After he locked me up, beating him down was practically all I could think about."

"By all means," Jake replied with a smirk, holding both hands forward as the Dark Dragon growled and aimed a jet of fire at Rose, which she dodged easily as Lao Shi flew around behind him and fired his own stream of flame. Haley glided downward and the Dark Dragon seemed to focus on her at once, flying toward her with arms outstretched. She ducked and rolled in midair and glided around him, landing a kick against his side that sent him reeling to the ground. "That's for using me as bait!" she shouted in satisfaction, crossing her arms as the Dark Dragon snarled and rose from the ground, ready to strike back.

It was obvious that the full extent of the evil dragon's power had not returned to him yet, as his strikes were slow and easy to dodge. The last time they'd fought him, he'd been at the height of his power, and a very dangerous adversary. Now, the fight was hardly matched, and in minutes they'd had him backed against the rear of the chamber, glaring and snarling at them, obviously angry and frustrated with his own weakness.

As Rose took a step toward him, Gregory suddenly appeared between the Dark Dragon and his opponents, making Haley jump in surprise. "Out of the way," Rose said in a low voice, grip on her staff tightening. Gregory smirked and muttered something under his breath. He waved a hand across the air and a light gust of wind blew by seemingly out of nowhere. "Look, we're not here to fight you," Rose went on. "So just do yourself a favor and—" She broke off suddenly, eyes widening and gaze dropping quickly to the ground. Haley realized why at the exact same moment, as she felt it too – as invisible force had attached itself to her legs and locked them against the ground. She couldn't walk, run, or fly, and judging by the expressions and movements of the others around her, they were experiencing the same thing. Whatever Gregory had done, it had frozen them all in place.

"Why are you doing this?" Jake asked Gregory in a voice of forced calm. "Why are you helping him? You know he just wants to take over the world. What can you possibly get out of it?"

"You still don't get it," Gregory said, shaking his head. "This isn't about me. This is about you – all of you. It's time you learned what it's like to lose everything you care about, just like I have."

"I tried to stop her!" Jake retorted angrily, a vague sense of desperation in his voice. "But she was too warped by her need for revenge." Haley watched him sympathetically, knowing he was telling the truth. She had witnessed firsthand what her brother had gone through three years ago with Ebony, and probably understood him better than anyone could. He hadn't wanted to kill the half-gorgon girl, but it had been his duty, and she had left him no choice. "It was my job to protect the world," he went on, serious eyes fixed on Gregory, who was watching him with mild interest, "and she was a threat to it. …I did what I had to do."

Gregory's expression hardened and he fixed Jake with a stony gaze, almost void of emotion. His voice was level and rang with a sense of direct finality and conviction when he said, "So did I."

Haley cocked her head to the side, a strange feeling of uncertainty and foreboding sparking in her, when suddenly the Dark Dragon got to his feet, a wicked gleam in his eyes and his mouth spread wide into an almost excited grin. "At last…" he muttered, holding his arms out in front of him and looking down at his claws in apparent earnest. Haley just barely noticed a ghost of a smirk cross Gregory's face before the Dark Dragon began to change. His scales lost their shimmer and morphed into thick, black fur while his claws and teeth stretched in length, their tips sharpening into fine, deadly points that glimmered like polished ivory in the torchlight and had the sickening appearance of sharpened bone. His body grew feet in length and width, arms and legs bulging with powerful muscles. His dark eyes flashed and began to glow a steady, evil violet hue, a vicious smile on his monstrous face.

"W-What's going on?" Haley stuttered, struck by a sudden and intense fear as she watched the transformation, eyes transfixed on the horrible sight.

"No way…" Jake said, his voice soft and distant. Haley tore her eyes away from the Dark Dragon and glanced to her left to see a horrified look on her brother's face, which only caused her own fear to increase. Jake's eyes traveled slowly to Gregory, whose expression had remained passive. "You didn't," he went on in a strained voice.

"Oh, I did," Gregory replied calmly, still standing between them and the transformed Dark Dragon. "I take it you recognize the spell? You should – it's the same one my daughter used on _you_. Got it from an interesting book she left me." Haley gasped – suddenly it made sense. She returned her gaze to the black monster behind Gregory and felt her heart sink in dread. Jake had fought against this very spell with everything he had, and it had still made him very dangerous. She didn't want to imagine what it could do to the Dark Dragon – who apparently had no intention of fighting it at all.

Jake shook his head in disbelief. "Do you have any idea what you've done?" he demanded, sounding almost panicked. "This is… This can't… Now he's…"

"It doesn't matter," Gregory said with a loose shrug of his shoulders. "My part in this is done." Suddenly the Dark Dragon raised his head to watch the group before him, an evil hunger in his violet eyes. He stepped forward and leaned down, bringing an arm around Gregory from behind. Haley's heart skipped a beat as the great beast extended a single claw and in one swift, seamless movement, sliced it across his ally's throat.

"NO!" Jake screamed as several people gasped in surprise, but it was too late. Haley covered her mouth with both hands as blood poured from the gash just below the man's chin, soaking his shirt and jacket in seconds. His eyes glazed over and he fell to the ground in a heap like a boneless ragdoll, body still and unmoving. _Oh, God…_ Haley thought, unbidden tears stinging her eyes as she stared on in shock. The worst part of it was, he hadn't even looked surprised.

As soon as Gregory fell, Haley felt the pressure on her legs vanish, allowing her freedom to move again. But despite that, her fear had frozen her in place, desperate adrenaline rushing through her veins and making her hands shake in frightened anticipation. The fight had been going well, they'd been winning. Why did this have to happen? Why had everything suddenly gone wrong all at once? Did they even have a chance anymore?

With a satisfied grin, the Dark Dragon threw back his head and opened his jaws, letting out a loud, ear-splitting roar of triumph. Haley and the others covered their ears with their hands in an attempt to block out the horrible sound, but still she could feel it penetrating into her mind like a million tiny daggers, causing her eyes to water and her head to throb painfully. When the sound vanished, Haley couldn't decipher whether the dull, high-pitched ringing left behind was coming from the air around her or from inside her ears, and she remained rooted to the spot as the Dark Dragon leapt into the air above them and glided from the chamber and out of sight.

"Guess it wasn't a party after all," Sara piped up from somewhere to Haley's right. "Ow…"

"We have to go after him," Jake said, his voice shaking. Haley glanced over to see an almost frantic look on his face. She could tell he was very shaken up, and he wasn't the only one. "There can't be much time until he does something terrible. Aw, man, this is bad…"

Haley turned quickly toward Sara and Kara, saying sharply, "So this wasn't the fight you guys' visions were about?"

"Guess not," Kara answered with a half-hearted shrug.

"What visions?" Lao Shi asked, eyes narrowing suspiciously. Swallowing hard, Haley turned toward her grandfather and took a deep breath, before recounting both Kara's prediction of Rose's victory and Sara's of Haley's defeat. Unsurprisingly, they took the news with mixed reactions.

"No way," Jake said firmly, expression turning grave. "I'm not letting that happen. I promised Mom and Dad we'd both make it home alive – and this time I'm keeping that promise."

"I don't know, Jake," Haley argued uncertainly. "We're supposed to win, right? Maybe we should just let it happen. Maybe we can't stop it, anyway."

"I don't care," her brother persisted. "The sooner we take out the Dark Dragon, the better. Then we can all make it out of this."

"Still, we must get Haley somewhere safe," Lao Shi cut in, looking troubled. "I too want to stop the Dark Dragon, but we cannot take unnecessary chances. Haley cannot be allowed to participate in the battle."

Haley ground her foot against the dirt in frustration. The last thing she wanted to do was sit at home while everyone she cared about was out battling a monster. "But Grandpa—"

"Message for Lao Shi," a sudden voice interrupted, and all of them jumped in surprise as they noticed the delivery fairy hovering beside the old dragon, apparently having arrived unnoticed. Lao Shi took the white envelope from the fairy, who disappeared in a cloud of smoke almost at once. He opened the envelope and extracted a single sheet of golden paper, examining it closely with a serious expression.

"What is it?" Haley asked, grateful for the change of subject.

"A summons from the Dragon Council," her grandfather explained with a frown.

"Why?" Jake said, looking confused. "What'd you do?"

"It is not for me," Lao Shi answered, his voice suddenly grave as his gaze rose from the letter and landed on his grandson. "It is for you."

-0-0-0-0-0-

_This can't be good… What could they want? Why now? Do they even know what's at stake here? Argh! What could be taking so long?_

A dozen thoughts buzzed to and fro through Rose's brain as she paced back and forth outside the audience chamber of the Dragon Castle on Draco Island, where she and the others had been asked to gather while Jake met with the Council. He'd been inside for almost an hour now, and they had yet to hear even the slightest whisper or clue as to what they could be talking about. She knew the others were just as anxious as she was, and the silence that had fallen between them was thick and stifling. The tension in the air was so substantial Rose wondered if she could have sliced through it.

"You don't think he's in trouble, do you?" Spud spoke up, voicing many of their thoughts.

"He _did_ disappear for three years," Trixie pointed out, looking troubled. "That's gotta be like… 'abandoning his duty' or somethin'."

"But the kid left Haley in charge," Fu Dog pointed out. "She's taken care of the magical world just fine since then."

"Maybe it's about Ana…" Rose suggested with a worried frown, causing everyone to fall silent again. Upon arrival and their being forced to wait outside, she had taken the time to recount everything Jake had told her about his time in the Sierra Madre Mountains to the rest of the group, including Ana Valdeza and what had happened to her. She didn't want to think it was true, but it was possible that the Dragon Council was displeased with Jake for hiding her death and neglecting to find a suitable replacement for her. Whatever the reason, Rose only hoped they would allow him to assist them in going after the Dark Dragon – she had a feeling they would need him.

After a few more agonizing minutes, the door to the audience chamber finally opened. Everyone looked up at once as Jake stepped out, closing the door behind him and staring at the floor with a vaguely shell-shocked expression.

"Well?" Rose demanded when he didn't say anything. "What happened? What did they want?"

"They…" Jake muttered absently, eyes still downcast.

"Did they arrest you?" Spud asked, rising to his feet from where he'd been sitting on the arm of Trixie's chair. "Are you going to jail? Did you escape? You know you can hide out at my place, I've always wondered what it'd be like to have a fugitive for a best frie—oof!" He broke off when Trixie elbowed him in the stomach before standing up as well and folding her arms across her chest.

"Whatever it is, Jake," Lao Shi spoke up, "I am certain they will understand if I speak with them. They must know how important it is that we find the Dark Dragon now. At a time like this, discipline can wait."

"Is it really that bad?" Haley asked uncertainly, eyeing the look of disbelief on her brother's face.

Finally, Jake raised his head and looked around at them all, before finally saying in a slow, careful voice, "They wanna reinstate me as the American Dragon."

"What?" Rose asked, noticing the surprise on the faces around her. "That's great!" She grinned in relief, clasping her hands together.

"What did you say to them?" Lao Shi asked calmly.

"I told them I needed a minute to think about it," Jake answered, a reluctant and almost nervous look in his eyes.

"What's there to think about?" Fu Dog wondered aloud. "You're in, kid! The Council wants you back! Better jump at the chance while you got it – they might not be so forgiving later on."

"Yeah…" Jake replied, tilting his head to the side uncertainly.

Rose sighed as she suddenly understood what he must have been thinking. "You don't think you deserve it," she explained aloud, causing his gaze to flit toward her and instantly confirm her suspicion. "Come on, Jake, you know that's not true. The Council knows how strong you are, just as much as we do. You've got that fire, remember?" She grinned somewhat sarcastically, thinking back to the conversation they'd had that night on the train, and was glad to see a small smile of recognition twitch at the corners of his mouth as well.

"But what about you, Haley?" he argued, turning to his sister. "It's your job now. The last thing I wanna do it take it away from you."

"Oh, please," Haley scoffed. "You can _have_ it. Juggling dragon stuff, school work, and piano lessons is exhausting. Besides, if I want to get into Juilliard, I have to devote more time to practice. Mozart composed over ten symphonies by the time he was my age, which means I've got a lot of catching up to do." She folded her arms and shot Jake a wide smile, causing him to shake his head and grin in reply.

"You're the best, you know that?" he said with a small laugh, placing his hand on her head and ruffling her hair.

"I know," Haley replied confidently, wrapping her brother in a tight hug. "Just don't go dirtying the golden reputation I've earned the American Dragon name over the last three years."

Jake laughed again and answered, "Aw, come on. Where's the fun in that?"

After a brief discussion, Jake opened the door to the audience chamber and reentered the room, this time followed by the rest of the group. "Have you reached a decision?" Councilor Kulde asked in a loud voice as Jake approached their table.

"I have," Jake replied. He shot a glance over his shoulder at his family and friends before turning to the Council and bowing his head. "And I would be honored to work for you again."

"Good," Kulde continued, observing Jake with a small smile. "Then let it be known that on this day, we, the World Dragon Council, do formally strip the title of American Dragon from Haley Long and bestow it upon you. You will from this day forward be responsible for the protection and safe-keeping of the magical realm within the country of the United States of America, subject to further instruction direct from sworn members of the World Dragon Council." He clasped his hands together and sat back in his chair, a satisfied look on his face as Jake stood straight and nodded in understanding. "That being done," Kulde went on, "we have one more important matter to address."

Councilor Andam rose to his feet just to Kulde's right and fixed Jake with a serious, business-like expression. "American Dragon, Jake Long," he began, his voice echoing across the audience chamber. "You are hereby tasked with the capture and/or defeat of Magic Enemy Number One, Donovan Hayes, also known as the Dark Dragon, convicted of illegal sorcery, assault, murder, resisting arrest, and unlawful use of dragon powers. He has been sentenced by this Council to execution. You are to use whatever means necessary to bring this criminal to justice. Do you accept this mission?"

Rose felt an unexpected swell of pride and exhilaration when Jake grinned and drove a fist into his palm. "Looks like the Am-Drag's House of Pain is back open for business," he said confidently. "Now serving number one – the Dark Dragon."

* * *

Alright! Things are rolling now! I'll probably update this sometime next week. 'Til then, gang!

See ya soon!

-oMM


	8. Blood

Hi again! Almost done with this now. Thanks as always to all readers/reviewers! Enjoy the chapter!

* * *

According to the Dragon Council, the Dark Dragon had made straight for New York City after leaving Chicago earlier that night. And as soon as Jake, Rose, Haley, Lao Shi, Fu Dog, Trixie, Spud, Sara, and Kara returned to the city, there was no mistaking this fact.

Midtown Manhattan was in chaos. Buildings were burning, sirens were blaring, and people were running and screaming everywhere in sight. Just looking at the mess of destruction in Times Square made uncontrolled anger boil hot inside Jake as their group came together on the side of the road, and he could tell by the expressions of his friends that they were all feeling the same thing. He knew the Dark Dragon had come here first as a direct challenge to them, and now more than ever he had to be stopped. People were dying, which meant that playtime was long over.

"I'm going after him," Jake said in a low growl of a voice, dragon eyes scanning the skies for any sign of the great, black beast. The sooner they found the Dark Dragon and took him down, the better for everyone.

"I'm coming with you," Rose said predictably. "Kara said I would defeat him, right? Hopefully it'll be sooner rather than later."

"Gramps and I'll do what we can down here," Fu Dog suggested. "Looks like this place could use a little magical mojo."

"Trixie, Spud," Lao Shi spoke up. "You two must take Haley and the Oracle twins to the shop. It looks as though most of the damage is concentrated around Midtown, so for the time being you should be safe there. Lock yourselves in, and do not allow Haley to escape."

"I'm right here, Grandpa," Haley pointed out irritably. "And I want to fight. This is my city, too!"

"Besides," Sara cut in, voice inexplicably cheerful, "you can't stop our visions. They always come true!" Kara rolled her eyes, but remained silent.

"Not this time," Jake insisted adamantly. "You're not going anywhere near the Dark Dragon."

"I have to agree with them on this one, Haley," Rose admitted, giving the younger dragon a sympathetic smile. "You'll thank us for this later."

Haley growled in frustration. "You guys can't do this! I have just as much right to be out there as you do!"

"Damn it, Haley, think about this for a second!" Jake shouted angrily, causing Haley to cringe in surprise. He fixed her with a serious glare, trying to show her the desperation he was feeling. The news of his sister's predicted death came as a serious and terrible shock to Jake, and he wanted to do anything in his power to keep it from happening, despite the Oracle sisters' insistence that their predictions were never wrong. Oftentimes they came true in unexpected ways, and all he could do was hope that this would be one of those times, that maybe the vision was of some battle far in the future and not the one they were about to fight. But in order for that to happen, she had to cooperate. She had to stay safe. "What if it were me?" he asked her seriously, hoping to make her understand how he felt. "What would you do then?"

Haley studied his expression for a few long seconds, then sighed and answered, "I wouldn't let you fight."

Jake felt a sense of momentary relief at her words. "Please, Haley," he said quietly. "I just don't want to lose you."

"Alright, fine," she finally conceded, eyes downcast. "Just finish him off quick, okay?"

Jake exchanged a glance with Rose and grinned. "You got it."

As Haley followed Trixie, Spud, and the twins down the street and away from the mayhem, Jake and Rose bid Lao Shi and Fu Dog goodbye and good luck before taking to the air and gliding high above the city, scanning the streets and skies for signs of the Dark Dragon's whereabouts. Apparently he'd been busy since his return, as a great number of buildings were now sprouting biting, violet and black flames. Everywhere people were running into the street, joining with their neighbors or calling friends or authorities on their phones. Police cars, fire trucks, ambulances, and all sorts of emergency response teams had all but flooded the main roads and were attempting to calm the residents and allay the chaos that had taken over. By the look of things, it was only a matter of time before the destruction spread across other areas of the city.

Finally, they spotted him. The Dark Dragon was gliding over a street lined with hotels and restaurants, breathing a constant stream of black fire across the buildings. "There he is!" Rose shouted unnecessarily as they both picked up their speed and closed in on him. Once in range, Rose yanked the staff from her back and extended its handle before firing a crimson energy blast at the great beast. It collided with his side, claiming his attention and causing him to turn midair and lay eyes on the approaching offenders. With a deafening roar, he glided up toward the tallest building on the street, which looked like a hotel, eliciting Jake and Rose to follow.

When they reached the roof of the hotel, they noticed that the Dark Dragon had returned to his normal dragon form, rather than that of the cursed monster, and that he was laughing. "Welcome home!" his deep voice boomed, sounding amused and pleased. "I hope you don't mind I've done some redecorating." He shot them a wide grin, showing his pointed teeth.

"I'm 'bout to redecorate your face in a minute!" Jake retorted furiously, landing on his feet and clenching his fists by his sides as Rose jumped down from her glider. "Going after dragons is one thing, but when you attack an innocent city of humans, you've gone way too far. This ends right here."

The Dark Dragon chuckled evilly. "We'll see about that," he said calmly, dark eyes glinting. "You may have defeated me before, Jake Long, but this new power of mine is so much more than I once was." Suddenly, he crossed both arms in front of his face and seemingly willfully transformed once more into the giant, black monster Gregory's spell had brought on, before loosing another ear-splitting roar into the night sky.

Rose braced her staff with both hands and turned to Jake with a determined fire in her eyes. "Ready for this?" she asked, her voice strong and level.

He opened and closed his fists and shot her a confident smirk. "Let's take him down."

-0-0-0-0-0-

"Will you stop pacing? You're making me nervous."

Trixie spun around and glared at Spud, who was seated atop the front counter. "Not 'til _you_ quit it with that yo-yo!" she shot back. "You're makin' _me_ nervous!" Spud shrugged and rolled up the yo-yo, stuffing it into his pocket and instead taking to staring at his feet. Trixie sighed heavily and leaned against the display case that ran the left wall of the electronics shop, rubbing her forehead with her fingers.

It was much quieter here on Canal Street than it had been in Midtown, which thankfully meant that the Dark Dragon must have gone north rather than south of Times Square. But at the same time, the silence was eerie. It seemed wrong, like they'd been removed from the terror they knew was happening not far from where they hid. Trixie wished there were something she could do to help, but she'd been given her own job to do, and do it she would. Haley needed to be watched and protected, and though the younger girl had not yet attempted to escape and join the battle, there was nothing saying she wouldn't make a run for it if a chance arose. And there was no way Trixie was going to let that happen. After all, a person doesn't become instructor at a karate school by letting kids get past them that easily.

"Look," Haley said firmly after a long moment of tense silence, "we'll all feel better if we just go out there and do something. We don't even have to go after the Dark Dragon – we can help my grandpa and Fu Dog on the ground. Whatever we do, we can't just sit here."

"Uh-uh, dragon girl," Trixie replied. "Jake's trustin' us to keep you safe. And that's what we're doin', even if it means sittin' here all night. You know what could happen if you go out there."

Kara's eyes flashed gold and she yawned. "You might as well stop worrying," she said, waving a hand in the air. "I just saw Haley beating Spud at a game of air hockey, which means she's gonna be just fine."

"Hey, I thought you only saw good stuff," Spud piped up with a frown.

"I do," Kara answered simply, causing Spud to look down, confused.

"Wait a minute," Haley interrupted before he could speak again. "You said your visions always come true. Now you're contradicting each other."

"Our visions _do_ always come true," Sara said with a smile, tilting her head to the side. "Always!"

"But… what does that mean?" Haley wondered, looking down at her lap apparently in deep thought.

Sara's eyes flashed and she clapped her hands together. "Ooh, you're about to think of something really scary!" she cheered, glancing at Haley. "I love scary stories! Have you heard the one about the headless butcher? That one gave me nightmares for a week!" She giggled and grinned happily as suddenly, realization dawned on Haley's face and her eyes grew to twice their normal size.

Ignoring Sara, Trixie eyed Haley with urgency. "What?" she asked sharply.

"Sara predicted," Haley said slowly, her voice shaking, "that the American Dragon would be mortally wounded in the battle against the Dark Dragon."

"We know," Trixie replied impatiently. "That's why your tail ain't goin' nowhere near that whack-job."

Haley raised her eyes to stare at Trixie, fear on her face. Her voice was just above a whisper when she said, "But I'm not the American Dragon anymore."

Trixie opened her mouth to reply, but froze when the implication of Haley's words sunk into her brain and a cold wave of dread washed over her. She was right – the title of American Dragon had been taken from her earlier that night. And it was given to someone else.

"Huh," Spud said absently, looking thoughtful and clearly not fully understanding the situation. "So that means you're safe?"

"I am," Haley admitted miserably, her frightened eyes moving to glance out the window, "but Jake isn't."

-0-0-0-0-0-

Back on the hotel roof in Midtown East, Jake and Rose's battle against the Dark Dragon wasn't going well. The curse had, predictably, brought back the full extent of his powers and multiplied them exponentially, making him bigger, stronger, and faster. It was all Jake and Rose could do to hold their own against him.

"This isn't working," Rose said grudgingly as she dodged a swipe of the Dark Dragon's claws and landed beside Jake, who was picking himself up from the rooftop with a disgruntled expression.

"Yeah, well, what do you suggest we do instead, let him wreak havoc in the city 'cause we're too weak to beat him?" Jake shot back irritably. "No freakin' way. I don't care what it takes, we're stopping him somehow."

Rose huffed in frustration. "Why don't you use your curse? You said you can control it, right?"

Jake froze, his jaw tightening. "No," he said shortly.

"But you said you'd do whatever it takes," Rose pointed out, flipping backward to dodge a ray of violet energy fired at them from their opponent.

"Except that," Jake argued as he too dodged the attack and shot two orbs of flame at the Dark Dragon, one of which connected with his arm. A burn mark appeared on the monster's flesh, but began to heal instantly and was almost gone in a matter of seconds.

"Come on, Jake," Rose persisted impatiently. "It might be the only chance we have."

"You're the one that's supposed to defeat him, remember?" Jake said angrily. "Why don't you stop talking to me and fight, like that stupid prophecy said?"

Rose rolled her eyes in exasperation. She knew it wasn't actually her that he was angry with, but regardless they needed to work together if they had any hope of beating the Dark Dragon – prophecy or no prophecy. He looked over and must have seen the frustrated look on her face, because his expression softened just a little.

"Look, I'm sorry," he said in a voice of forced calm. "But I don't know what'll happen if I give in to it. I might be able to fight it, or I might not. I could just end up helping the Dark Dragon destroy the rest of the city, for all I know."

Rose wanted to argue that that would never happen, but she could see it was no use – not yet, anyway. She thought back briefly to the magic compass Ana had given him and remembered that no matter what he said about the curse, he was still more afraid of it than anything, which meant he wouldn't be willing to use it unless the situation was worse than his fears. So instead she focused her attention on the battle, repeating Kara's prediction over and over in her head. They would win. They _had to_ win. There was way too much at stake for them to lose, and both of them were too invested in the city's safety to allow any more harm to come to it.

Jake leapt into the air and sped toward the Dark Dragon, Rose running at top speed just below him. He glided around behind the black beast, who turned his head to follow his opponent's movement, exposing his back to Rose. She pulled a blast gun from the weapon holster across her back and fired three consecutive shots at the Dark Dragon, the force of which caused him to stumble forward across the rooftop. He snarled angrily and spun rapidly around, teeth and claws whipping through the air. His arm slammed into Rose, knocking her off her feet and throwing her against the rooftop a few yards back with a pained yell.

"Rose!" Jake called, and she sat up just in time to see the Dark Dragon wrap his left hand around Jake's wing and use it to fling him roughly to the ground. Rose climbed to her knees as her right arm throbbed painfully beneath the long, jagged cuts dug by the Dark Dragon's knife-like claws. She reached behind her and pulled a small, metal cylinder from her weapon pack.

"Jake!" she called across the rooftop as he got to his feet, teeth gritted tightly and left wing bent at odd angles. "Catch!" He glanced toward her just as she drew back her good arm and threw the cylinder toward him. He snatched it out of the air and looked at it strangely.

"What is this?" he shouted back at her.

"Press the red button!" she answered. He must have done so, because the next second the cylinder opened and extended into a domed circle, forming itself into a wide, crimson shield. And just in time, as the Dark Dragon chose that moment to fire a jet of black flame at Jake that instead reflected harmlessly off the metallic surface. The great beast roared in apparent anger and turned toward Rose, his eyes glowing brighter and an arm outstretched. Suddenly, a strange barrier of violet energy formed itself around her, trapping her in a small space roughly six square feet in size.

"Hey!" she shouted in frustration and surprise. She reached out a hand and touched the barrier, hoping it wouldn't burn or shock her or some other harmful reaction. Surprisingly, the energy was cool and hard to the touch, almost like glass. So instead, she proceeded to pound her fists against it, and when that had no effect, she fired first her staff, then her blast gun, neither of which were any more successful.

Peering through the violet film, she saw Jake climb to his feet and shoot her a worried look before using the shield to block a swipe of the Dark Dragon's claws. He tried to jump into the air, but his left wing didn't seem to want to move, and instead he dropped back to the rooftop with a pained grunt. He leapt around the Dark Dragon, dodging yet another attack, and fired a barrage of fireballs at the monster, who was knocked to the rooftop as a result, allowing Jake time to hurry to Rose's side.

"You okay?" he asked her, and she was surprised that his voice wasn't muffled by the strange energy barrier between them.

"Fine," she replied, clamping a hand over the cuts in her right arm in a futile attempt to dull the pain. "What about you? That wing looks pretty bad."

He glanced to his left and tried to extend his wing, but flinched almost immediately. "I think it's broken," he admitted with a grimace. "Guess I won't be flying anytime soon." He turned back to the barrier, placing a hand on it and glancing upward. "What is this thing?"

"I don't know," Rose answered. "Some kind of energy shield. Maybe if you distract him, he'll drop it."

"Great, sounds fun."

"Jake, look out!"

Jake spun around just as the Dark Dragon raised his arm and fired a beam of violet energy straight for them. He ducked and rolled to the side, causing the energy to collide with the surface of the barrier around Rose, which seemed to absorb it harmlessly. _So they're made of the same stuff…_ she wondered with an annoyed frown. She didn't appreciate being locked up that way. How was she supposed to fulfill Kara's vision if she was trapped in a tiny, purple prison?

For a few minutes, she was forced to watch helplessly as Jake grappled against the Dark Dragon, obviously at a disadvantage being unable to fly. He was doing all he could to block and dodge the attacks, and was successful most of the time. But this left little room for him to get in his own attacks, and the Dark Dragon was clearly not weakening any time soon.

"Jake!" she called out finally, growing more and more worried as the minutes went by. "You have to use your curse! It's the only way you're gonna beat him!"

"No!" he shouted back as he threw up the shield and held it with both hands while the Dark Dragon seemed to throw all of his strength against the metallic surface. "I just have to get you out of there! We can do this!"

"Jake! Rose!"

Rose jumped in surprise and whirled around to see a long, lavender dragon glide over the edge of the roof and land on her feet a few feet away. "Haley?" Rose said incredulously, eyes widening.

"What?" Jake demanded, turning around and laying eyes on his sister. The Dark Dragon roared loudly and shoved harder against the shield, forcing Jake back a few feet. "What are you doing here?" he shouted through gritted teeth, his body tense as he fought against the Dark Dragon's strength.

"You know what's supposed to happen!" Rose joined in, her distress at seeing Haley obvious. "You were supposed to stay safe!"

"I _am_ safe!" Haley retorted, her voice frantic and raising a spark of confusion in Rose. "The prophecy—it was never about me!"

"What are you talking about?" Jake demanded as he tried and failed to shove the Dark Dragon away from him. "You shouldn't be—"

"Sara said the American Dragon would be killed in the battle," Haley interrupted impatiently, wide eyes shifting between Rose and her brother. "And I'm not the American Dragon now! You are!"

"_What?_" Jake said in surprise, allowing the Dark Dragon to push him back another few feet before he regained his position.

"Oh, no…" Rose muttered, eyes widening in shock. Haley was right. The prediction had been about the American Dragon, which at the time no one questioned had referred to Haley. But now, that wasn't the case. Haley had never really been in danger. The prediction had been about Jake all along. "Jake, you have to use your curse NOW!" Rose yelled across the rooftop, her voice desperate as she realized what was happening. "If you don't, you'll die!"

"No!" he shouted in response, though Rose could hear the uncertainty in his voice. He was too far away for her to fully make out his expression, but she was sure he was just as troubled and afraid by this news as she was. But apparently, it didn't scare him as much as the curse did. "I'm fine! I can handle this!"

"Jake, you need to get somewhere safe!" Haley cried, sounding scared and on the verge of tears. "Their predictions ALWAYS come true! You KNOW they do!"

"That's not gonna happen!" Jake insisted as the Dark Dragon howled in anger, bracing his arm to strike. "Now get out of here, Haley, before—" The screeching sound of metal snapping filled the air as Rose's shield suddenly split in two and the great, black monster lunged forward with eyes gleaming, spearing all five dagger-like claws on one arm through Jake's body.

"NO!" Rose screamed as the broken shield fell to the ground and Jake froze, stunned disbelief on his face. She heard Haley shout something as well, but both of their voices were drowned out by the roar of victory uttered instantly by the Dark Dragon, who spread his jaws in an evil smile as he yanked his arm free, splattering blood on the rooftop and causing Jake to stumble forward with a strangled yell.

The Dark Dragon shrank back to his normal dragon form and laughed in satisfaction before reaching out and grabbing Jake by the neck, lifting him up from the ground and fixing him with a cocky smirk. Rose felt angry tears sting at the corners of her eyes and she started throwing all her weight against the energy barrier around her in a futile attempt to break free. She punched, kicked, even body-slammed the thin walls, but nothing she did made the slightest difference. She could only watch as Jake struggled weakly against the grip around his throat and the Dark Dragon said in a low voice, "Let's see you come back to life this time," before heaving Jake to the floor and spreading his wings, taking off and disappearing into the dark sky, insane laughter echoing behind him.

Once the Dark Dragon was out of sight, the barrier around Rose finally vanished, and she met Haley at Jake's side as both dragons reverted to human form, her breath catching in her throat when she saw the state he was in. The Dark Dragon's elongated claws had dug five craterous holes in his chest and stomach, and in the seconds since he'd changed from dragon form his shirt and jacket were already soaked with blood. He was awake and breathing, but barely.

"Guess that's what I get for… arguing with the Oracles…" he muttered between short, choking breaths before he twisted to the side and coughed violently, spitting more blood onto the ground. Tears were streaming down Haley's face as she placed both hands on his arm, looking like she wasn't sure whether to smack him or hug him.

"This can't be happening…" Rose said quietly. "We just got you back…" Her mind was reeling with a cacophony of different thoughts and emotions all going on at once. She was angry, confused, sad, afraid, tired, hurt, and trying her hardest to think of something they could do – some way to save the person dying right in front of her. "Haley… What exactly did Sara say her vision was?" There had to be a clue. The twins often said it themselves – their visions always came true, but not always in the way expected. They had to be missing something.

Haley shut her eyes in thought, breathing quickly through the sobs she was attempting to hold back. "She said… 'The American Dragon will be mortally wounded in the battle'," she finally replied haltingly.

"But she didn't _say_ he would die?" Rose asked, a desperate sort of urgency in her voice.

Haley looked at Rose with pain in her eyes, like she couldn't believe what she was hearing. "_Mortally_ wounded, Rose," she repeated. "We both know what that means."

"I know, I know," Rose said impatiently, blinking away the tears in her eyes as Jake gasped and grunted in pain, his fingers twitching sharply. "But that means that—the prediction already came true, right? So maybe now there's something we can do." She looked directly into Haley's eyes, her expression gravely serious. "We can't lose him again," she said evenly.

Haley stared back at her for a long moment, before suddenly her eyes shot open wide. "Rose—" she began breathlessly, "your birthday present!"

"Wha…?" Rose's voice trailed off as realization struck her like a freight train. "The mermaid pearl! Haley, do you—?" The younger girl answered her question before she could voice it by reaching below the collar her shirt and extracting the necklace Rose had given her just days ago for her fourteenth birthday. Mermaid pearls contained some of the most powerful healing magic known to the magical world. If anything could save Jake, this was it.

"What do we do?" Haley asked as she yanked the chain from her neck and glanced down at her brother, whose eyes had grown distant and vaguely glazed as his breathing slowed to short gasps.

"Smash it!" Rose replied quickly. Haley's arm changed instantly to that of a dragon before she held the pearl over her brother and crushed it between two sharp claws. The stone shattered from the force and dropped a mix of translucent water and tiny, white shards onto his blood-stained jacket, and the water began to glow a bright, beautiful ivory before it soaked into his clothing and vanished. Rose held her breath and watched as Jake's eyes suddenly cleared and his face screwed up in surprised pain. He let out a short cry and his body seemed to seize up before going completely limp, a tired groan escaping his throat as his eyes slid closed.

"No," Haley muttered, eyes widening as her fists tightened in the fabric against the shoulder of Jake's jacket. "We can't be too late… Jake. _Jake!_" She leaned down and stared almost frantically at her brother until Rose reached over and gripped her shoulder tightly.

"It's alright!" she said harshly. "He's still breathing—look. I don't know if the pearl will work, but there's still a chance." She let go of Haley's shoulder and climbed steadily to her feet, taking a deep breath in an attempt to calm her racing heart. "Stay with him."

Haley looked up at Rose with concern in her eyes. "Where are you going?" she asked, though her tone suggested that she knew the answer.

Now that the fear and despair had begun to ebb, they left behind a pit of uncontrollable rage and anger inside Rose that she needed to satiate. This whole thing was the fault of one man – of one _dragon_. And he would pay for everything he'd done, no matter the cost.

Rose summoned her glider and pulled her hood over her head, casting the dark, steely look on her face into shadow. She drew her blast gun from her back and held it in both hands, before turning her neck to answer Haley in a low, even voice.

"I've got my own prophecy to fulfill."

* * *

Alright! Another one down, only one more chapter and the epilogue to go. You know the drill, next one will probably show up next week (I seem to be on a Thursday kick, haha).

Reviews make my day, guys! Thanks for reading, see ya soon!

-oMM


	9. Fire

Hey, gang! Last real chapter here finally! I don't think I have much to say beforehand, other than thanks as always for reading/reviewing and for the continued support.

Enjoy the final fight!

* * *

The next twenty minutes were the most agonizing in Haley's life. As she sat on the hotel roof in silence, the only things running through her mind were worry and fear.

The city around her was burning. The destruction was worse than any she'd ever seen before, and brought forth a protective sort of anger inside her as she thought of all the people who must have lost friends or homes or belongings to the damage. With the Dark Dragon distracted, the authorities were finally able to begin putting out the fires and repairing some of the carnage, but it would be a long time before the city was restored to the way it was, and even longer before the people felt safe again. There would be no hiding the existence of magical creatures now, Haley knew, the Dark Dragon had seen to that. The only question would be whether or not they could convince the human world that not all dragons and creatures were as twisted and deranged as he was – most wanted only to live peacefully.

Trixie and Spud had gone to find Lao Shi and Fu Dog when the three of them had left the electronics shop not long before, both to give them the news of their discovery regarding Sara's prediction and to help out in their efforts in Times Square. Haley hoped they had all met up safely and were having some luck in their efforts, given the general hysteria she'd seen on her brief flight through the city. But she trusted them, and was confident that many people would be better off with them around.

She also couldn't stop thinking about Rose, who had disappeared after the Dark Dragon and from whom Haley had yet to hear. From what she'd seen, Gregory's spell had made the Dark Dragon impossibly powerful, and as strong and determined as she knew Rose to be, she wasn't naïve enough to believe her invincible. There was Kara's prediction to consider, which succeeded in somewhat allaying Haley's fears, but as they had seen with Sara's vision, the Oracles' predictions were oftentimes not what they originally seemed, which meant that anything could happen. Part of Haley wanted desperately to go after Rose and help her, but she had a more important task to look after.

Her gaze dropped slowly from the dark, smoky sky to land on the still, unconscious form of her brother, who had yet to move since Rose's departure. She bit her lip as unwanted visions of his fight with the Dark Dragon flashed before her eyes and she shook her head vigorously in an attempt to clear them. He would be fine. He had to be. Fu Dog had said that mermaid pearls contained the strongest healing magic he knew of, which was saying something for him. Haley was afraid to closely examine Jake's wounds to see if they'd begun to heal, for fear of discovering the opposite, and instead had taken to pacing slowly around the rooftop and using her dragon eyes to watch over the city below her. She thought of taking her brother home, or to a hospital, or even to Fu Dog and her grandfather, but in the end she decided it best not to move him and to allow the mermaid pearl to do the work she so wanted it to do, which meant that she had nothing to do but watch and wait.

When at last Haley heard a low groan from behind her, she spun around at top speed to see Jake pulling himself up onto his elbows, his teeth gritted tightly in a pained grimace. "Jake!" she gasped, a heavy wave of relief washing over her as though she'd dove head-first into a pool of cold water. She was on her knees at his side in seconds.

"What happened?" he asked, his voice thick and tired, as he clutched a hand over his head and shut his eyes.

"Sara's prophecy," Haley answered carefully. "You almost died, remember?"

He glanced at her sharply, first understanding then confusion sparking in his eyes as the haziness cleared from them. "Why didn't I?"

"I'll explain later," she replied somewhat impatiently, reaching forward and finally yanking his shirt and jacket up to inspect the injuries. Her heart skipped a beat in relieved elation when she saw that the wounds dug by the Dark Dragon's claws had closed completely, leaving behind only a few jagged, white scars.

"Whoa," Jake said, his voice seeming to grow stronger with each word. "What did you guys do? Wait a second…" His eyes quickly scanned the rooftop, his expression turning serious. "Where's Rose?"

"She went after the Dark Dragon," Haley answered at once. "She wanted to fulfill Kara's vision."

"Alone?" he said incredulously, a hint of fear in his eyes. "She could be killed! We've gotta find her!" Some rational part of Haley thought that that wouldn't be a good idea – that Jake was still recovering and shouldn't be heading into a fight. But more than that, she too wanted more than anything to ensure that her friend was alright and provide whatever help she could. After all, maybe the three of them together might have a chance.

"Right," she said firmly, nodding her head and gripping her brother's arm, helping him to his feet. He staggered a few steps and placed a hand on his forehead, probably still light-headed from losing so much blood, but the resolve on his face was obvious, so Haley didn't say anything. Both siblings shifted wordlessly to dragon form, preparing to take off.

"Looks like whatever you guys did fixed my wing, too," Jake said suddenly, stretching and folding his left wing experimentally, a grin sliding across his face. Haley shot him a puzzled look, but decided not to ask, as they had more important things to be doing.

"Good," she said, trying to lighten her voice, "'cause there's no way I was gonna carry you. Now come on, let's get going."

He looked over at her and smiled, before jerking his head toward the sky. "Lead the way."

-0-0-0-0-0-

Rose grunted in frustration as she pushed herself up from the ground just in time to roll sideways to avoid a thin stream of purple energy directed toward her. She leapt to her feet and flipped forward in the air, swinging the bladed end of her staff down and slicing a cut across the Dark Dragon's arm, causing the beast to howl in pain and anger. She landed in a crouch and dodged his counterattack with a back flip, but was knocked out of the air by his tail not a second later. As she climbed to her knees, she noticed that the wound she'd inflicted on his arm had already begun to heal at an accelerated rate.

_Not again…_ she thought bitterly. Apparently, the spell had not only boosted the Dark Dragon's size, strength, and speed, but also his recovery rate. Every strike Rose had managed to land on him had begun to heal before her eyes, and though she noticed that the process was beginning to slow as their fight wore on, it was still a major problem, considering the many wounds he had inflicted on her were not quite so eager to heal.

As she got unsteadily to her feet, leaning heavily on her left leg as her right was weakened from the thin gash across her thigh, the Dark Dragon shrank once more back to the form of the black dragon she knew so well. "So this is the great Red Hunter," he taunted her, sharpening his claws against each other. "The bane of the Huntsclan and hero of the magical realm. The one prophesied to defeat me in battle. How disappointing."

_Don't let him rile you,_ Rose told herself firmly. _You've gotta keep a level head. You can do this. _The problem was, she was beginning to have a difficult time believing it, regardless of any predictions the Oracles had made. The fact of the matter was that she was outmatched. That was all there was to it. She had thrown everything she had at her powerful opponent, and though he had weakened by a small margin, her own dwindled strength was simply not enough to keep it up. The difference between them was just too great.

"I suppose I didn't need to draw you out after all," the Dark Dragon went on when Rose's only reply was a stony glare. "It seems you alone aren't enough to stop what I have planned."

"Then it's a good thing she's not alone!"

_Haley?_ Rose wondered in mild surprise, recognizing the voice instantly. She spun to the side to receive a further shock as the dragon forms of both Haley and Jake sped into view, gliding as one toward the equally surprised Dark Dragon and knocking him forcefully to the rooftop on which they were gathered. "What are you guys doing here?" Rose said in wonder, feeling an unconscious smile reach her face at the sight of the siblings. _So the mermaid pearl worked after all! _she realized with immediate relief. _He's alive!_

"Duh, we're here to help," Haley replied matter-of-factly as she landed protectively beside Rose.

The Dark Dragon growled in annoyance as he climbed to his feet and glared daggers at Jake, who was standing a few feet away from him. "You just don't stay dead, do you?" he said venomously, his voice low and threatening.

"Why would I?" Jake replied lightly. "Then I'd miss out on the chance to show you up again!" He jumped into the air and darted forward, slamming into the Dark Dragon and driving him against the rooftop. Not a second later, he'd landed on his feet beside Rose and Haley. "You okay?" he asked Rose seriously.

"I'll live," she answered with a smile, leaning on her staff. "You?"

He grinned. "Looks like cheating death's becoming a habit for me."

"Yeah, well," Rose went on, shaking her head and suppressing the urge to roll her eyes, "let's try to avoid the need in the future."

Just then, the Dark Dragon let out a loud howl and all three of them turned in time to watch as he once more activated Gregory's spell, transforming his dragon body into that of the huge, black monster, clearly ready to take them all on at once.

Rose took a deep breath and turned a serious gaze to the others. "Jake," she said carefully, her voice low and level, "you have to use the curse. It's the only thing that could match his strength."

He frowned and shifted sad eyes to the floor, saying, "I know."

"Just listen, I know you're afraid, but I—" She broke off, having been fully prepared to argue with him. "Wait… Did you just say you know?"

"You're right," he admitted, clenching his hands into fists as he turned to glare toward the Dark Dragon. "I wanted to believe there was another way to beat him, but… Well, we all saw what happened when we tried that." He took a steady breath, his jaw tightening in resolve. "He has to be stopped. No matter what." When he turned back to Rose and Haley, there was a sort of forced smile on his face, and Rose gave him the most encouraging look she could muster. "You guys stay back, okay?" he said. "I don't want you getting hurt."

"Good luck," Haley said with a smile, taking a step back toward the edge of the rooftop. Rose thought she saw a spark of uncertainty in the younger girl's eyes, but she knew Haley trusted Jake just as much as she did, and would do ask he asked.

Jake nodded and turned away, stepping toward the Dark Dragon, who was moving slowly toward them. He shot a final glance back at Rose and Haley and said, "If this goes nuclear—"

"We know what to do," Rose interrupted him before he had to say what they all were thinking. He shot them a wide grin before turning back to the Dark Dragon and lowering his head. In mere seconds, his form shifted abruptly from that of a dragon to that of the same giant, crimson beast that Rose remembered from their final battle against Ebony Gray years ago, sharp, gray claws gleaming in the moonlight and eyes shining a striking gold. He threw back his head and released a deafening roar into the night, before crouching down and leaping forward so fast he became a barely visible, red blur of color. He rammed into the Dark Dragon, bowling them both to the ground where they rolled over each other, claws and teeth lashing in every direction.

As Rose watched the creatures fight, she realized she couldn't have helped Jake even if she'd wanted to. The speed and intensity of the battle was almost too much for her eyes to follow, and she felt as though one step amid the fray would get her torn to shreds in a matter of seconds. The Dark Dragon was larger, but Jake was faster, which seemed to give him the advantage. Both gave and received a surprising number of injuries, and both seemed to heal almost as quickly, though as the minutes wore on this continued to slow down. _Please…_ Rose found herself thinking as her eyes trained unblinkingly on the fight. _Please let this be enough…_

She heard Haley gasp sharply as the Dark Dragon snatched Jake by the ankle mid-strike and slammed him against the ground with an angry snarl, but Jake raised an arm and shot a beam of yellow energy into the Dark Dragon's face, causing him to howl in pain and press both hands against the spot. Jake leapt from the ground and flipped over the Dark Dragon, landing on the larger beast's back and digging his claws into his black fur. The Dark Dragon roared so loudly, Rose and Haley were forced to throw their hands over their ears to shield from the volume. As he struggled, Rose saw thick lines of blood begin to trail down his back and a tiny spark of hope appeared in her mind.

Jake growled and shoved downward, forcing his sharp claws further into the Dark Dragon's back. The larger monster snarled in fury and pain, before reaching a hand over his shoulder and firing a violet energy blast from his fist. The beam hit Jake on his right side and forced him off of the Dark Dragon, slamming him against the floor with such force that a deafening crack split the air as the rooftop broke apart, creating a wide hole through which Jake disappeared with a loud howl.

"Jake!" Rose and Haley shouted in unison as Haley took a reflexive step forward. As the Dark Dragon turned and slowly approached the hole, his breath now slow and ragged, Jake suddenly reappeared, gliding upward out of the hole and back in his usual dragon form. Haley gasped and Rose's eyes widened as he dropped to his knees on the rooftop, shifting immediately to human form and breathing heavily.

The Dark Dragon slumped his shoulders, looking considerably weakened, before also shrinking back to dragon form and slowly approaching Jake, a furious glare on his face. Jake climbed shakily to his feet, but cried out through clenched teeth and fell back to his knees, arms hanging limp at his sides. _Oh, no…_ Rose thought, her throat tightening and her stomach twisting into knots. _No way. Not this time. This ends now._

The Dark Dragon staggered to a halt just before Jake, who raised tired eyes to glare at him harshly. "This time," the Dark Dragon growled between heavy breaths, "you'll _stay dead._" He raised a clawed hand, his dark eyes shining with malice, but Rose was already on the move. She leapt forward and flipped through the air, landing directly behind Jake so fast the Dark Dragon barely noticed her before she drew back her staff and let out a fierce battle cry, swinging her arm with all her strength and releasing the weapon. It flew forward and pierced blade-first directly through the center of the Dark Dragon's chest, clearing his body before he could so much as move.

The great black dragon let out an agonizing roar before staggering backward and reverting suddenly to his human form, which Rose had only seen once and very briefly. The look on the man's face was one of utter shock and horror, as though he couldn't believe what had just happened. His eyes moved down to see the blood flowing freely from the golf ball-sized hole in the middle of his chest, before widening and rising to look between Rose and Jake in wonder and fury. His mouth twitched like he wanted to speak, but no sound came out, and he fell forward as if in slow motion, landing face-down on the rooftop never to move again.

For a long minute, everything was dead silent. When the reality of what had happened finally began to sink in, Rose felt a warm sense of excitement and triumph spread rapidly through her body, a wide grin forming itself on her face. They'd done it. The Dark Dragon was defeated, and they'd won. And not only that, but they had all survived and come out more or less unscathed. The fires in the city had been contained and mostly put out, and by the look and sound of things, order was slowly but surely beginning to be restored. For once in Rose's life, things had actually worked out in the end.

"Looks like all the predictions came true," Jake spoke up finally, his voice tired but his expression clearly happy and relieved.

Rose glanced down and met his eyes, her smile only widening. "We did it!" she said with a strangely high, giddy laugh. He laughed in return and had barely climbed to his feet before Rose threw herself forward and wrapped both arms around his neck, forcing her mouth almost eagerly against his.

This time, there was no uncertainty, no surprise, and no reluctance from either one of them. Rose felt Jake hang his arms around her waist almost instantly, pulling her hips against his and removing any space between them. Almost losing him for the second time had made Rose realize just how much he still meant to her, and would always mean to her. The feelings that had always been there were much more real than she had allowed herself to admit before, but now that he was back and not going anywhere she chose to accept and revel in them and the warm, elated feeling they gave her. She had been on quite an emotional rollercoaster over the past few days, but the Dark Dragon was defeated and she and all her loved ones had won and made it out alive. Despite the situation, Rose thought it may have been the happiest she'd ever been in her life.

When the fiery heat in Jake's mouth became too much for Rose, she backed reluctantly away from him, releasing her breath in a heavy sigh, and was surprised to see a thin, wavering ring of smoke escape her lips. Haley, who had returned to human form and come to stand beside them, laughed at the sight, a giddy smile on her face.

Jake quirked an eyebrow and grinned in amusement. "Guess I'm not the only one with fire inside," he joked, once again referencing their conversation on the train.

Rose gave him a pointed look and drove her fist into his shoulder. "That was _your_ fault," she said playfully, her mouth still feeling as though it was in flame. She wondered briefly if this was what it felt like to breathe fire. "I think you burned my tongue!"

Jake shrugged, smirk still in place. "Dragon," he pointed out simply.

Haley laughed again, before wrapping the two of them in a tight hug. "Come on, lovebirds," she said with a shake of her head. "Let's go home."

"Yeah," Jake agreed, placing a hand on his sister's head and mussing her hair.

_Yes,_ Rose thought to herself, _home._ She smiled a contented smile and glanced out over the recovering city, glad beyond anything that they still had one.

* * *

Sorry if this seemed a bit rushed. When I re-read it, it kind of gave me that vibe, and I guess maybe in a way it _was_ a bit rushed. But regardless, I'm happy with it. It's the ending I wanted and I had a blast writing it, so I'd say that's a job well done.

Anyway, yes, there's an epilogue, which I'll probably get up tomorrow and round this story off. Drop me a review in the meantime! Say whatever you want, honestly flames and criticism don't bug me in the slightest :)

See you tomorrow (hopefully)! Bye!

-oMM


	10. Epilogue

As promised, here's the epilogue! It's short, but I actually had a lot of fun writing it-hopefully it shows, haha.

Enjoy!

* * *

"Can you _believe_ this, Spud?" Trixie said in a slightly shrill voice. "Boy, you know where we are? This is the _White House!_ The _President's_ crib! And they got us up in here like we all tight wit' the _government!_ I'm tellin' ya, baby, ain't nothin' _ever_ gonna top this!"

"Who do you think this phone calls?" Spud asked as he bent over the end table beside the long sofa, on which sat a black telephone. "It's only got one button. Maybe it directs the President to his secret network of spies. You know, the ones who fight crime and kill bad guys to make it look like an accident." He picked up the receiver and turned it over in his hand, as if inspecting it. "You think if I call them, they'd let me join? I could use all my mad skills to—ow!" He flinched when Trixie smacked his hand, causing him to drop the phone back to the table.

"Can it, Spud!" she said harshly. "How many times do I gotta tell you? We're in the _President's house_! You can't just go all touchin' everything wit'cha dirty fingers!"

"Now this is some impressive artwork," Spud said, having apparently ignored Trixie and snuck past her to examine a painting of what looked like ancient roman architecture hanging near the wide window against the back wall of the room. "I've always been a fan of historical eighteenth-century neoclassicism. You know where this would look perfect? In the bathroom at my apartment, right above the sink. That way I can look at it when—"

"Spud!" Trixie shouted at her boyfriend in exasperation as he reached both hands out and gripped the elaborate wooden frame of the painting. As she dashed across the room and tackled him in an attempt to keep him from touching the art, Jake heard Rose laugh lightly from off to his right. The situation was actually rather funny, and he knew he would have laughed as well had he not been so utterly nervous.

Jake ceased his jittery pacing and threw himself heavily onto the edge of the sofa with a shaky sigh, trying to settle the knots that had formed in his stomach. He turned and glanced at the flashing television, which displayed the image of a female news reporter.

"We're live just outside the White House Press Room," she was saying, her tone level and her voice clear, "where minutes from now we will hear an address regarding the true events that took place in New York City two weeks ago, which it has been confirmed involved a number of real, live dragons and possibly other similar magical creatures. The speaker, nineteen-year-old Jake Long, was thought to have been killed in a building collapse in October of 2009, but was in fact—"

"Fu, will you turn that thing off?" Jake said irritably, the report only further aggravating his nerves. He ran a hand through his hair, suddenly strangely self-conscious of the bright red streaks in it.

"No way, kid," Fu Dog replied, eyes glued to the TV screen. "This is the biggest thing to happen to the magical world since the invention of the flying carpet, and I ain't missin' a second of it. Got it recording back at the shop as we speak. I'm tellin' ya, couple hundred years from now, this'll be worth some major smackeroons."

"Great," Jake muttered, swallowing hard. As expected, the Dark Dragon's attack on New York City had effectively and undeniably alerted the world to the existence of magical creatures. The world leaders had been in contact with the Dragon Council over the past two weeks, working through a series of diplomatic discussions and agreements before the decision was finally made to share the information formally with the world. And predictably, Lao Shi had volunteered his grandson to speak at the conference in Washington, D.C. Jake understood that as the American Dragon, something like this should be expected of him. But that didn't exactly mean he was okay with it. Revealing the existence of the magical world was a huge step, and the pressure on his shoulders to do it in a way that would be well-received was enormous.

"Will you just relax?" Rose said as she sat down beside Jake, wrapping her arm around him and bending forward to look him in the eye. "You're gonna do fine."

"You should be the one giving this address," he said pointedly. "You took out the Dark Dragon. You saved the world."

"I couldn't have done it without you, and you know it," she argued, nudging him with her shoulder. "Besides, the Red Hunter is a vigilante, remember? Not the sort of leader the world can rally behind."

Jake sighed heavily, knowing she had a point but not wanting to say it aloud. He reached absently into his pocket and pulled out Ana's magic compass, flipping it over in his hand and staring at it for what felt like the millionth time since the Dark Dragon's defeat. His eyes watched the needle as it slowly rotated in a circle, never stopping in any one direction.

"Hey, that's the same thing it does for me," Rose said, carefully taking the device from his hand and holding it out, proving her words true.

"Maybe that's because we're both afraid of the same thing," Jake suggested, part of him still having a difficult time believing that he wasn't afraid of the curse anymore.

Rose smiled distantly as she watched the tip of the needle make its slow progress around the edge of the compass. "You mean, losing the things we care about. The things all around us." It wasn't a question, so Jake didn't answer. He let his eyes travel around the oversized, lavishly-decorated sitting room, thinking how close they'd come to losing to the Dark Dragon and allowing him to take over the world. He looked from Fu Dog on the opposite end of the long couch to Trixie and Spud, who were arguing about something near the window, and remembered what had gone through his mind when he'd decided to use his curse to stop the Dark Dragon. He'd realized that the power to defeat him was something he already had, but had been too afraid to use because of the danger it presented. But the danger of the monster who was wreaking havoc in his city and threatening to destroy everything he loved was so much greater that his mind had practically made itself up. It had taken an attack of that scale to show him something more terrifying than Ebony's curse, but in the end he still felt a sense of pride and accomplishment that he was able to overcome his own fear and stop the worst from happening. As his eyes landed once again on the compass in Rose's hand, a familiar memory flashed behind his eyes.

"_You know it doesn't work for me—"_

"_It will… when you conquer your fear. You and me… We're a lot alike, Jake. You could be stronger than I ever was."_

"_You _must _be out of it to be talking like that."_

"_Se necesita valor que hablar la verdad."_

Ana was right – speaking the truth did require a great amount of courage. Just like admitting you were afraid. Jake wondered briefly what she would say if she'd known about the Dark Dragon, or about their coming revelation of the magical world on national television. He knew she was the sort of person to be supportive of the ones she loved no matter what, and as Rose placed the compass back in his hand and smiled, he couldn't help but think that the girl beside him was much the same.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked curiously.

Jake replaced the compass back into his pocket and slid his hand into Rose's, lacing their fingers together. "Nothing," he answered simply, and Rose smiled, vague understanding in her sapphire eyes.

Suddenly, the study door opened and Jake and Rose twisted around to see a man in a simple, black suit wearing a wired earpiece lean into the room. "Five minutes," he said in a stiff, business-like tone. "If you'll follow us."

Jake got to his feet and Rose wrapped him in a brief embrace. "Good luck," she said with an encouraging smile, squeezing his shoulders before stepping aside to allow him to walk past her.

"Don't forget to mention us!" Spud called across the room, grinning widely. "Those humans need to know who it was that saved their backsides."

"You _are_ human, boy," Trixie pointed out, smacking the back of his head before shooting Jake a thumbs-up. He grinned at them, grateful for their relaxed attitude and the effect it had on his nerves, and followed the two secret service agents out of the room and into the long hallway.

When they reached the front entrance to the press room, one of the men muttered something into his wire while the other opened the door and led Jake inside. The wide room was filled with people, almost all of whom were brandishing cameras, recorders, microphones, or note-taking materials. Many near the front glanced over at the disturbance and instantly the voices in the room increased excitedly. Near the door was the reporter Jake had seen on the television in the study, still facing her cameraman and speaking into her microphone.

"…inside, only seconds away from this momentous address," she was saying. "After the conference, stay tuned for a personal interview with—there he is!" She had spun around just as Jake and the two agents entered the room and immediately began to make her way toward them. Jake did his best to ignore her and everyone else and instead made straight for the podium at the head of the room, which was guarded closely by White House security.

When he reached the podium and the guards closed in around him, he stood still and allowed his eyes to survey the room as it slowly fell silent. He met the eyes of his parents, sister, and grandfather, all of whom were seated in the second row on the right side and were watching him with calm, encouraging expressions. _This is it,_ he thought to himself. _No more secrets. No more hiding. It's time for both worlds to finally come together as one. This is what we've all been waiting for._

As the room at last fell deadly silent, Jake took a single deep, steadying breath and set his expression in a determined glare.

"My name is Jake Long," he said, his voice strong and steady, "and I'm the American Dragon."

**~)~)~)~  
****THE END  
~(~(~(~**

* * *

Ta-da! This is exactly the end I wanted. Originally, I was gonna write his whole speech, but then I decided I actually like this a lot better, so I cut it off here. I'm really happy with it and I think it's a good ending that doesn't beg a sequel like Dragon Blood kind of did, heh heh.

Anyway, thanks bunches to you all for reading, and I hope you're as happy with this small little sequel fic as I am! I had a lot of fun writing it and it makes me glad to know it's been appreciated.

Drop me a review on your way out and let me know your final thoughts - I'd love to hear them!

So long for now, everybody! Perhaps we'll meet again some day, and all that jazz.

-oMM, OUT!


End file.
